Nike: Music Shoes

Shoes as we know it are never going to be the same again. Nike has just come up with the first of its kind music shoes!

Here is a short video showing how the shoes were made…

This is the final Nike Music Shoes ad…

Why this idea feels like a shift

The shoes are not styled as fashion first. They are staged as an instrument. They are also staged as an interface. Here, “interface” means the shoe becomes a control surface that converts movement into sound. That reframing matters because it turns product into performance. Because the movement-to-sound mapping is immediate, the audience can grasp the idea without extra explanation. In global consumer marketing, proof-led product storytelling like this tends to travel further than style-led messaging. You do not watch someone wear them. You watch someone play them.

Extractable takeaway: When you introduce a new interaction, show the input and output in the same moment, so belief is earned through observable cause and effect, not claims.

  • Product becomes interface. Movement is translated into sound, which makes the shoe feel “alive”.
  • Proof in the making. The build film adds credibility and curiosity before the final creative payoff.
  • Shareable demonstration. People want to show others because the concept is easiest to understand when you see it.

What to learn from the two-video structure

Pairing a “how it was made” film with the final ad is a smart sequencing move. First you earn belief. Then you deliver the spectacle. In innovation storytelling, that order often performs better than going straight to the hero spot. The real question is whether your innovation needs a proof chapter before you ask people to share it. For novel product behaviors, lead with proof, then pay off with spectacle.

  • Earn belief first. Let the making-of do the minimum explanation needed for “this could be real”.
  • Then stage the performance. Use the final ad as the payoff where the product is “played”, not described.
  • Keep it demo-able. If a viewer cannot retell it after one watch, it will not travel.

A few fast answers before you act

What are Nike “Music Shoes”?

They are a concept where the shoe is treated like a musical instrument, translating movement into sound to create music through performance.

Why include a making-of film as well as the final ad?

The build film establishes credibility and explains just enough to make the final ad feel possible, not magical.

What is the core creative pattern here?

Turn a product into an interface, then let a live-style demonstration carry the message without heavy explanation.

How can brands reuse this idea without copying it?

Identify one product behavior you can translate into a new medium, then show both the “proof” and the “performance” as two linked chapters.

Apple: 12 Days of Christmas

Is it just me or is Christmas this year turning out to be very Apple.

Here is Apple making Christmas news again. This time with their new TV ad.

The ad reworks the standard Christmas carol of the same name to feature twelve iPhone applications related in some way to the holiday season.

  • 12 cookies cooking: The Betty Crocker Mobile Cookbook (Free)
  • 11 cards a’ sending: Postman ($2.99)
  • 10 gifts for giving: My Christmas Gift List ($0.99)
  • 9 songs for singing: TabToolkit ($9.99)
  • 8 bells for ringing: Holiday Bells ($0.99)
  • 7 slopes a’ skiing: Snow Reports ($1.99)
  • 6 games for playing: Christmas Fever ($0.99)
  • 5 gold rings: Anna Sheffield Jewelry (Free)
  • 4 hot lattes: myStarbucks (Free)
  • 3 flights home: Flight Search (Free)
  • 2 feet of snow: Weather Pro ($3.99)
  • And an app that can light up the tree: Schlage LiNK (Free but hardware required)

What the spot is really doing

The mechanism is a catalog disguised as a carol. Each lyric is a micro use case, and each use case quietly argues that “apps” are the reason the device feels personal in December, not just powerful on paper.

In consumer technology categories where feature lists blur quickly, showing everyday use cases beats claiming capability.

The real question is how to make an ecosystem feel instantly useful without falling back on a feature list.

Why it lands

It is lightweight, instantly recognisable, and structured for memory. You already know the song, so the ad can spend its time on the parade of utility and novelty instead of on explanation.

Extractable takeaway: If you want to sell a platform, turn your ecosystem into a familiar format people can hum, then make each beat a concrete “I can use that” moment.

What platform marketers can borrow

  • Use a cultural template. Borrow structure from something the audience already carries.
  • Keep each benefit bite-sized. One line per use case is enough when the rhythm does the glue work.
  • Let variety do the persuasion. A spread of small moments can outperform one big claim.

A few fast answers before you act

What is this Apple “12 Days of Christmas” ad?

A holiday TV spot that rewrites the classic carol to showcase twelve iPhone apps tied to seasonal moments.

What is the core mechanism?

A familiar song structure becomes a rapid-fire list of app use cases, turning the App Store into the product story.

Why does the format work so well for apps?

Because apps are easiest to understand as situations, not specs. The carol format delivers situations at speed while staying coherent.

What is Apple really selling here?

The ad sells the iPhone as an entry point to a seasonal ecosystem of useful apps, not just as a piece of hardware.

What should I copy if I am marketing a platform?

Package the ecosystem as a set of quick, concrete jobs-to-be-done, then anchor them in a structure the audience already recognises.