Celebrating England’s national identity is a tricky path to tread right now, but Nike and skateboard apparel brand Palace have faced it head-on. Here’s Wayne Rooney performing the “This other eden” speech from Shakespeare’s Richard II while holding a skull in the style of Hamlet‘s Yorick – except it’s painted in the colours of the England flag.
The idea is to associate the flag with the diverse range of people it represents, so we also see a range of gritty British cultural vignettes and an appearance from former England women’s midfielder Jill Scott.
Written by Stuart Hammond, a co-founder of Palace, and directed by the Burnermunde duo, who said: “At its core, we wanted to reimagine what England means. Not in a grand, patriotic way. More like: this is what it is. England isn’t one thing. It’s always changing.”
Last week Nike released a teaser for its 2026 World Cup campaign featuring a series of Polaroids capturing the famous faces – including Kim Kardashian and Travis Scott as well as a host of footballing stars (including Rooney) – that would be appearing in this year’s work.
This first spot isn’t for TV but it’s a promising start. Humour, drama and sport are what the world cup is all about.
MAA creative scale: 8.5
