From stripes to checkmark: What LEGO could learn for new Nike collab

23/08/202423/08/2024 Rachael Davies 268 Views 0 Comments

A new partnership with Nike isn’t the first time that the LEGO Group has teamed up with a sporting brand, so what could it learn from a past collaboration?

The LEGO Group began a lengthy and prolific (at least in some areas) partnership with adidas back in 2017 and now seems to be starting fresh with Nike in a fresh collaboration. The press materials announcing the new partnership promise “a series of co-branded products, content and experiences” – which is a suitably vague description that means pretty much anything could be coming down the pipeline.

Nonetheless, looking at the LEGO Group’s past work with adidas might offer some clues as to what to expect. Some are obvious, while some are less clear, so let’s dig into it.

Nike-themed LEGO sets – with a reasonable GWP

The most immediate expectation is at least one (but hopefully more) Nike-themed LEGO set, perhaps similar to 10282 Adidas Originals Superstar. Nike has a long history of shoes to draw on but the most tempting creation would be a retro classic Jordan, like 1985’s Air Jordan I. With the LEGO Group’s focus on multi-build sets in themes like LEGO DREAMZzz and beyond, there’s even the possibility of a shoe that you can build in multiple ways. This would offer fans the chance to buy one set and be able to different styles and colourways, depending on your preference.

10282 Adidas Originals Superstar came with a GWP and, while we hope that we’d get the same this time around, we’d also hope that the LEGO Group would employ more sensible pricing. 40486 Adidas Originals Superstar came with a minimum spend of £95 in the UK, $85 in the US and €95 in Europe – more than the £79.99 / $79.99 / €89.99 price tag attached to the actual set. GWPs are always welcome – but with a more justifiable price.

LEGO-themed sportswear

The next obvious product is surely LEGO-themed sportswear. The adidas partnership saw shoes and clothing for people of all ages, centred around sportswear and athleisure. The adidas clothing featured a lot of stud-effect prints and LEGO-themed logos, so we can probably expect more of the same. For Nike, they offer more variety of clothing than adidas, generally speaking, so this could offer the chance for a wide range of brick-style items.

While the adidas x LEGO shoes offered a subtle and good-looking choice, Nike’s Jordans are one of the most popular footwear brands in the world. A LEGO-themed shoe in that range would likely break the internet and surely go down well with fans. The brand is already known for its iconic collaborations, integrating external branding into the shoe effortlessly. Some highlights include Marvel collabs, Dior features, and even an adidas x Nike shoe. We’d hope for some creative results, perhaps going further than studs on a shoe or similar.

If shoes are on the way, greater variety for adults’ sizes would also be a welcome change. While there were some adidas options for adults, the vast majority were for kids. The LEGO Group has placed a renewed focus on adult consumers in the past few years, so fingers crossed this carries over for any future shoe or clothing drops.

Active campaign between the two companies

Being a sporting brand, it would also make sense for some kind of physical, in-person collaboration. Indeed, adidas ran a number of workshops to celebrate the LEGO Group’s 90th anniversary, so perhaps another similar event could be on the cards.

A LEGO walk that tests the true comfort of Nike shoes? A building event to see who can build the best iconic checkmark? Sports competitions with the chance to win LEGO sets? The possibilities are endless and Nike and the LEGO Group’s values of positivity and creativity go hand in hand neatly.

A recoloured goat?

A closer look at the promotional materials for the Nike x LEGO partnership also highlights a recoloured LEGO goat, alongside what looks a new colour for a winged horse – which would be one of the more unexpected results of the collab. We’ll temper expectations with a note that the LEGO Group has been known to use elements that don’t exist in LEGO sets for promotional materials, so this isn’t confirmation that this element exists or is on the way. Still, if a team-up with Nike is what’s needed to offer more colour and variety to the LEGO animal world, we’ll certainly take it.

“Branded content and experiences” leaves a lot of room for interpretation

Nike has already teamed up with Fortnite in Airphoria, offering the chance to create “a meticulously crafted Air Max–themed universe” using Unreal Engine in Fortnite. Could this translate into LEGO Fortnite too – or even a whole new game mode?

The promise of “content” definitely suggests it will be more than sets and clothing, implying that something digital is on the way too. A whole new game seems like a huge expense for a potentially low payoff, so we’d expect, if anything, the Nike partnership to be incorporated into the LEGO app or the ongoing LEGO Fortnite drops.

LEGO Fortnite perhaps makes the most sense, with fresh content drops already built into how the game works. We’ve already seen major events like the Star Wars one for May the Fourth, so there’s already a tried and tested formula to work from.

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Rachael Davies

I write about all the very best fandoms – and that means LEGO, of course. Spending so much time looking at and talking about LEGO sets is dangerous for my bank balance, but the LEGO shelves are thriving. You win some, you lose some.