Parallel Journeys: connecting practice across playing fields

Read the campaign story

Nike India’s Parallel Journeys film juxtaposed young cricket players’ preparation with the work of established Indian internationals. The campaign debuted online in September 2012 and then on television around an India–England T20 match. Contemporary sources identify it as part of Nike’s wider Bleed Blue platform. The case is therefore a specific cricket film, not a claim that Nike introduced a completely new global philosophy in that year.

The film includes players such as Virat Kohli, Zaheer Khan and Ajinkya Rahane alongside younger athletes. Cricbuzz credits JWT Bangalore, creative direction by Senthil Kumar and director Abhinay Deo. It also describes a vocal-percussion soundtrack drawing on the sounds of street cricket. Little Black Book corroborates the release and parallel-training premise. The accounts largely communicate launch material, rather than independently measuring the film’s effect on participation or sales.

The editorial device is correspondence. Similar actions in different settings let an amateur recognise a connection with an elite performer without pretending their resources or opportunities are identical. Training, repetition and preparation become the common visual language. This is more specific than placing a star beside a product and asking the audience to admire them. The edit makes the relationship between the two worlds the main argument.

A small sports organisation could adapt the structure with an adult beginner and an experienced practitioner performing an appropriately scaled version of the same basic skill. Use qualified instruction, realistic workloads and explicit consent. Match shots for clarity, not to imply that beginners should copy elite training intensity. The soundtrack can come from original recordings of the activity, provided privacy and recording permissions are handled and no copyrighted music is borrowed without rights.

The film’s motivational language should not become a promise that effort alone guarantees professional selection. Access, coaching, health and opportunity also shape sporting pathways. Evaluate whether viewers understand the practice being shown and feel invited to try a suitable next step, not whether they temporarily imagine becoming a national star. This case demonstrates a useful way to connect aspiration with process: make the repeated action visible, acknowledge the differences between participants and allow the brand’s role to support the activity rather than claiming ownership of every person’s ambition.

Find a real shared action

Build the edit around an observable practice rather than celebrity proximity.

Scale effort safely

Never present elite workloads as beginner instructions.

Credit the wider platform

Distinguish a named film from its long-running brand umbrella.

A small test for another brief

Film an adult beginner and experienced practitioner doing a suitably scaled skill.

Understanding of the skill and suitable trial enquiries.

Remove any sequence that invites unsafe imitation.

• Choose the skill with a qualified coach.
• Film consenting adults at appropriate individual intensity.
• Edit matched actions and provide a safe beginner next step.