‘Leave a little room for improv’: How not sticking to the brief culminated in one of Nike’s most iconic ads

The infamous Tiger Woods hacky sack ad is one of the most iconic sports campaigns, and, as it turns out, none of it was planned.

On part two of Mumbrella’s chat with Greg Hoffman – as part of our new one-on-one podcast series – the former Nike chief marketing officer recalled some of his favourite campaigns, including the Woods ad.

“[Woods] was actually shooting another commercial and in between takes at that commercial, out of boredom, he was doing that,” Hoffman explained.

“Some of the Nike teammates saw him just on the side doing the hacky sack with the golf ball… they were empowered to take that and go, ‘you know what?’ I think there’s an idea there.’”

Hoffman, who will also headline this May’s Mumbrella360 conference, said the spot is a brilliant example of why marketers should allow “a little bit of spontaneity” in their work.

“As marketers, if everything you do is only possible because you were briefed to do it… but there’s no room to introduce anything else beyond that, I think you’re not going to realise the incredible potential that’s in your employees and the team overall,” he said.

“So, I always talk about making sure that you leave just a little room for improv. Doesn’t have to be a lot. Could just be 5% of what you do within a given month… a lot of the biggest ideas I was a part of [came from] just a couple people in a hallway.”

Listen to part two with Hoffman here.

Mumbrella360 will go ahead at Doltone House in Sydney on May 21-23. For details on tickets, click here.