In 2012, Adidas spent more than £100 million to become the official sponsor of the London Olympics. Nike spent nothing. Yet, when Ipsos MORI surveyed viewers after the Games, 37% of people believed Nike was the official sponsor — compared to just 24% who correctly recalled Adidas.
Nike hadn’t broken any rules. It had simply understood how the human brain works — and used it better than anyone else.
When Perception Beats Permission
Sponsorship deals are built on visibility — logos, naming rights, airtime. But Nike realised that attention doesn’t guarantee attribution. People don’t remember who paid for access; they remember who fit the moment best. And in 2012, Nike’s “Find Your Greatness” campaign fit perfectly.
Instead of focusing on elite Olympians, Nike showcased ordinary athletes in towns and cities named “London” around the world — London, Ohio; London, Jamaica; London, Nigeria. Each ad carried the same emotional cues as the Olympics: ambition, effort, triumph. But it told a different story — one that belonged to everyone.
The campaign blurred the line between official sponsorship and cultural ownership. When viewers thought about the Games, they didn’t think “Adidas, official partner.” They thought “Nike, inspiration and achievement.”
The Neuroscience of Misattribution
Here’s the science: the brain doesn’t store facts about sponsorships. It stores associations. When we encounter a brand, we don’t file it under “sponsor” or “advertiser” — we connect it to emotions, images, and meanings.
Over time, Nike has built powerful memory structures linked to sport, effort, and achievement. The Olympics are also associated with those same ideas. When two sets of associations overlap, the brain fills in the blanks. It remembers the feeling but not necessarily where it came from. This is called misattribution.
That’s why Pepsi is often remembered for Super Bowl ads, even in years when Coca-Cola pays for the sponsorship. It’s why BMW sometimes earns brand recall during Formula 1 seasons dominated by Mercedes. The human mind doesn’t track ownership — it tracks meaning.
Owning the Memory, Not the Moment
Nike’s brilliance lay in recognising that you don’t have to buy the moment to own it. By mirroring the emotional energy of the Olympics, Nike built a bridge in people’s minds between its brand and the Games — without a single contract or logo on display.
It was a masterclass in cognitive branding. The campaign didn’t compete for visibility; it competed for memory. While Adidas bought the platform, Nike built the association. And in marketing, association is what drives recall — and ultimately, preference.
Most brands still chase exposure. They buy the stage, flood the feed, and measure impressions. But cultural memory doesn’t work that way. Visibility fades. Emotion endures. What sticks is how your brand feels in the context of a shared experience.
Actionable Lessons for Modern Marketers
The Nike case isn’t about ambush marketing — it’s about understanding how memory works and designing for it. Three practical takeaways stand out:
- Build memory structures around meaning, not media. Don’t ask “where should we show up?” — ask “what feeling should we own?”
- Create emotional overlap. Align your brand story with the themes of major cultural moments — effort, achievement, belonging, innovation.
- Focus on cognitive fluency. The easier your brand is to associate with a powerful emotion or event, the more likely it is to be remembered.
The New Competitive Edge: Memory Engineering
The most valuable space in marketing isn’t the billboard, the ad slot, or the sponsorship deal — it’s the customer’s mind. Nike’s “Find Your Greatness” campaign proved that owning memory can outperform owning media. It’s the quiet power of brand association — the moment when people feel your presence even when you’re not officially there.
The future of marketing won’t belong to the loudest brand — it will belong to the one that feels inevitable.