NIKE - THE WEMBY CROP CIRCLE
THE WEMBY CROP CIRCLE
In 2023, 7'4" French phenomenon Victor Wembanyama was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs and delivered one of the
most remarkable seasons in NBA history. He led all rookies in points, rebounds, and topped the league in blocks—a feat
no rookie had achieved in 30 years. Wemby’s performance put him as the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, with
LeBron James nicknaming him "The Alien,” a moniker that sports media and Wemby embraced.
In the lead-up to ROTY announcement, we identified a once-in-a-lifetime moment to celebrate his achievements. During
the last week of the NBA season, the total Solar Eclipse was set to cross the US, reaching totality over Wemby’s NBA
hometown of San Antonio. Leaning into the "alien" theme, Nike created a 665-foot crop circle featuring an alien head
within a basketball, located in a San Antonio field, on the eclipse's path. Drone footage captured the crop circle, and on
April 8th, after the eclipse peaked, Nike revealed their otherworldly tribute across social media with caption, “The total
eclipse has just begun.”
The execution drove massive online reactions, sparking fan conversation, theories about product releases, and debates
on whether the crop circle was real. Publications like USA Today, Fast Company, and Bleacher Report highlighted the
moment, while fans began crafting unofficial merchandise, fan art, and their own versions of the film.
The night Wemby won ROTY we ended all speculation, connecting him to the crop circle across social and OOH, with
visuals of him standing amongst the crops with the line ‘This Is Wemby’s World Now’. Finally rounding off our
supernatural tribute for a supernatural talent at a supernatural moment.
Results
- 21 million organic social views in one week
- Trending on Twitter
- 392 Million impressions
- Exceeded Twitter view benchmarks by 10,600%
- Exceeded TikTok view benchmarks by 3,100%