Nike releases self-spoofing series of artwork

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Mar 27, 2017

Artists Ava Nirui and Alex Lee have launched a series of fake advertisements aimed at poking fun at consumerism. These advertisements were shown as part of Nike's annual Air Max Day celebration, taking place on March 26th.

For the campaign, Nirui and Lee have spoofed a series of Nike ads featuring the sportswear brand’s classic Air Max sneaker. The exhibit is being put on in conjunction with Nike’s Air Max Day, Nike’s annual celebration of the iconic sneaker and its history.

While this series of pieces may poke fun at Nike, Nike is fully behind the work. Nirui told Dazed Digital, “Working with Nike was amazing... They were really open to our ideas and embraced our weird/humorous concepts.” 

The eight ads feature eight different Air Max sneakers from Nike. Each ad mocks a certain area of consumerism – like the “Air Mail” ad, featuring a shoe wrapped up in parcel paper, and “Cover Yourself”, featuring an Air Max One sneaker made from ballistic nylon.

The shoes are currently on display at the Nike clubhouse at 45 Grand Street in New York City.

Nirui has risen to Instagram fame by creating arts that stand at an intersection between fashion and consumerism. Nirui plays off the popularity of star brands, recycling iconic logos onto strange objects, such as a Dior inhaler, a Chanel basketball, Chanel popcorn, and Gucci bricks.