Nike Air Max 95 Celebrates 30th Anniversary with JD Sports

Nike and JD Sports marked thirty years of the Air Max 95 with a campaign that set a new benchmark for sneaker launches in the UK and across Europe. The aim was simple: make it impossible to miss, both on the streets and online.

Formats Used
3D OOH, Special Builds, Digital OOH 

Challenge
The Air Max 95 is one of Nike’s most recognisable trainers. The 30th anniversary needed to feel like more than a milestone. It had to connect with sneaker fans, make an impact in busy city centres, and create content people wanted to share.

Strategy
3D out-of-home led the campaign. For the first time, Nike and JD Sports built a launch around anamorphic sites, securing fourteen UK screens alongside landmark placements in Milan, Paris, Rotterdam, and Glasgow. Each city was selected for its cultural influence on trainer communities.

Boxpark Wembley, London, acted as the flagship. The audience there is young, trend-driven, and socially active, making it the perfect setting to generate offline and online cut-through. In Liverpool, an eight-foot-long “touch and feel” installation gave people the chance to interact physically with the campaign.

Execution
The 3D creative showed the Air Max 95 bursting out of a shoebox and rotating mid-air. Every screen was tailored to its own dimensions and sightlines to ensure the illusion worked from every angle. Strong media relationships meant all sites were secured without production fees, with savings reinvested into further reach.

Across Europe, Milan’s Duomo Metro showcased the JD Sports exclusive ‘Gold Strike’ colourway, while premium sites in Paris and Rotterdam built visibility in key retail areas. The campaign was delivered as one cohesive plan, combining spectacle and scale with local cultural relevance.

The build wasn’t without hurdles. Heavy animation files meant renders took days, requiring early creative lock-in and multiple workarounds. In Liverpool, the six-metre Air Max installation was stolen overnight but fully replaced within 24 hours.

Results
The campaign delivered more than 78 million impressions across six countries and nine cities, almost 20 million above target. Negotiations unlocked over £100,000 in added premium media value, with overshow adding a further £105,000 at no extra cost.

Engagement was immediate. Crowds gathered at Boxpark Wembley and Liverpool Central Station to watch the 3D illusion, with videos spreading across TikTok, Instagram, and sneaker forums within hours. National press picked up the story, giving Nike and JD Sports even wider visibility.

Retail results also reflected the buzz, with JD Sports’ Pink Foam colourway sold out in men’s sizes during the campaign. In Italy, the Gold Strike colourway cleared major stores in days. Fans queued and camped overnight in Liverpool to secure early access.

The creative lived beyond the launch, with JD Sports adopting it to open new flagship stores in Manchester and Glasgow. The campaign proved that OOH can combine spectacle with tangible cultural and commercial impact.