Influx

Nike is running controversial new advertising during the rugby world cup. The spots bring Rugby’s fierce competitive spirit and violence into pubic spaces, featuring businessmen and pedestrians bashing each other and breaking windows as they pass the ball through traffic. The campaign, called ‘keep the ball alive,’ has been banned in the UK.

There is also an integrated contest in which fans look for five icons, each symbolizing a skill needed to keep the ball alive. Nike is planting the icons with clues on the streets of target cities and on the web. Fans search for the icons, then send the clues back to Nike via cell phone text messages to win gear from the Nike-branded consumer electronics line.

Watch the spot here (Quicktime)