Corinthians celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010. Nike’s response is not a one-off jersey drop or a polite tribute film. It is a whole new country.
“República Popular do Corinthians” reframes the club’s fanbase as a nation. With supporters reported in the tens of millions, the campaign leans into the idea that this “country” would outsize many real ones by population, and treats that as the brief.
Building a nation, not a slogan
The mechanism is full institutional cosplay, executed with enough detail that it feels official. F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi São Paulo designs the assets a nation “needs”. A coat of arms. A flag. Documents. Legislation. Currency. Heroes. An embassy. Even a president.
In fan-led sports cultures, identity symbols and rituals often travel further than product messages because supporters use them to perform belonging in public.
Why it lands with 30 million people watching
This is a campaign that gives fans something to do, not just something to admire. The “country” frame turns fandom into citizenship, and citizenship invites participation. Collect the documents. Fly the flag. Use the language. Carry the identity.
Extractable takeaway: When your audience already behaves like a community, stop treating them like a segment. Give them a shared “operating system”. Symbols, rules, roles, and artifacts that let them express membership without needing the brand in the room.
It also sidesteps the usual anniversary trap. Instead of nostalgia-first storytelling, it builds a living structure fans can inhabit, which makes the celebration feel ongoing rather than commemorative.
The commercial intent hiding inside the romance
The emotional story is belonging. The business outcome is demand. A nation needs uniforms, badges, and visible markers of identity, and the campaign makes those markers socially meaningful.
The legacy write-up around the work describes substantial earned attention, including a reported figure of $7,800,000 in free media coverage. Separate from that media value claim, the campaign is also publicly associated with industry recognition, including being named “Idea of the Year” by the Saatchi & Saatchi network’s Worldwide Creative Board.
What to steal for brand communities outside football
- Build an identity kit. Go beyond a logo. Create artifacts people can carry, collect, and display.
- Make participation the message. If it only works when watched, it is fragile. If it works when used, it spreads.
- Design for self-propagation. Fans should be able to recruit other fans without a brand explanation deck.
- Let the world “recognize” it. Embassies, documents, and rituals create the feeling of legitimacy, which is what turns a joke into a movement.
A few fast answers before you act
What is “República Popular do Corinthians”?
It is a Nike campaign that frames Corinthians supporters as citizens of a fictional nation, complete with national symbols and official-seeming artifacts, created to celebrate the club’s centenary.
What is the key mechanism that makes it memorable?
Completeness. Instead of one hero asset, it builds an entire identity system. Flag, documents, currency, roles, and an “embassy” that makes the nation feel legitimate enough to participate in.
Why does the “nation” metaphor work so well for sports fans?
Because fandom already behaves like identity. The nation frame gives supporters a structured way to express belonging, recruit others, and turn private loyalty into public signals.
How can a non-sports brand use this pattern without forcing it?
Start with a real community behavior you can amplify, then design a small set of artifacts and rituals that make participation easy. If people will not use it without you promoting it, simplify the kit until they do.