Nike did not sleep on Saquon Barkley’s sensational weekend move, making an ad out of the viral moment.
The Philadelphia Eagles running back pulled off a historic acrobatic feat against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, hurdling a defender on a running play. While players jumping over each other is hardly new to the NFL, no one had ever done it backward before Barkley executed it in Philly’s latest win.
Images and videos of the hurdle are popping up everywhere this week, with the aforementioned sportswear giants getting in on the fun.
You can see their new ad right below:
Nike turned Saquon Barkley’s reverse hurdle into an ad 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6PgMG2n1LD
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) November 4, 2024
Social Media Loves Nike’s New Saquon Barkley Ad
Fans on social media had plenty to say about the above.
“Created a new way to evade a tackle,” someone pointed out.
“smart they need to turn the ship around, smart move,” said another.
“Damn this goes HARD,” a third declared.
“Genius,” said a fourth.
“Haha that’s dope. Good job Nike,” another comment read.
“Nike’s ad department 🐐,” a fan claimed.
“The business affairs copyright logistics around this are pretty fascinating. And lightning fast. I presume they would need sign off from the NFL, each player, and the photographer. Unless they have some sort of blanket license with the NFL as a lead sponsor?” someone wondered.
Who did it better? pic.twitter.com/4TAwLVdU97
— K-Why23👽 (@K_Why23) November 4, 2024
As for Barkley, the star RB had quite an outing for his new team, recording 159 rushing yards and a touchdown, scoring on a catch from a pinpoint Jalen Hurts throw to show off his receiving skills.