Nike’s 2024 ad campaign characterised “madness” as a desirable trait in elite athletes.
The day before the start of the Euros 2024, Nike Football released their latest advertising campaign, entitled: “Awaken Your Madness”. To the soundtrack of “There’s Something Wrong With You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, the video focuses on three footballing superstars (Erling Haaland, Vinicius Junior, and Kylian Mbappe) going to extreme lengths to find that “something special that separates those at the top from everyone else”.
According to Nike and ex-footballer Ronaldinho, this involves unlocking a status of “madness” and a level of “crazy” “that all greats have”. To the viewer, this appears to have been achieved through long hours of practice into the night and during bad weather. Training montages are interspersed with strong images including of what appears to be a human heart.
In the video description, there is a tagline, “Shop Mad Brilliance”, and a URL directing viewers to Nike’s latest line of products.
Words like madness have a rich history in the way mental health and psychiatry is viewed and talked about in society. It’s a divisive term and its use has changed dramatically throughout recent history, ranging from “provocative, insulting, stigmatising and hurtful”1 to now being reclaimed through Mad Pride2 for instance online by #madtwitter on Twitter or X and Mad Covid3. For Nike’s purposes, they are showcasing madness as a desirable trait for elite athletes and an imperative ingredient to sporting success (ultimately to promote their products).
Whilst experiences of mental health problems can sometimes influence one’s performance, motivation, and ambitions in a helpful way (for instance Tyson Fury4), they don’t necessarily separate those at the top from everyone else. Instead, daily experiences of mental health problems can often greatly impact one’s physical health, exercise habits, and motivation in a harmful way. In addition, the history of the word madness specifically, and its previous association with the inhumane treatment of individuals with mental disorders can raise questions about the appropriateness of language choice in this campaign.
I think using the term madness is wrong because it fuels stigma. Often, it’s used to describe something extreme or ‘insane’, as in this ad, but historically it’s tied to mental illnesses like schizophrenia, which can be highly debilitating. Using the same word both for something to be desired and for a mental illness is problematic. That’s why trivialising mental health terms is harmful, as it downplays the magnitude of the real condition. Additionally, sharing my perspective as a Brazilian: using Ronaldinho, an extraordinary player but here in Brazil also known as the ‘rei dos rolês aleatórios’ (‘king of random outings’), who is famous for his ‘eccentric adventures off the pitch’, only reinforces the problematic idea of ‘madness’ by associating it with unpredictable behaviour.
Thanks for your comment! Very interesting points, especially about the risk of changes in these terms increasing stigma and debilitating real experiences of mental health problems. To offer a counterpoint however, movements like Mad Pride advocate for being proud of these identities and encourage the appropriation of these terms to describe one’s experiences with mental health problems. Interesting perspectives on either side of this debate!