Nike: Runner's High by Megs and Shamus

Beloved Broad City alum Ilana Glazer hits the streets with a spirited slice of humor in the Nike Joyride campaign.

Produced by Caviar and directed by Marielle Heller, the series of three spots were created by New York and Portland-based agency Megs and Shamus, and highlight the shoe’s unique benefits through the eyes of reluctant runner, Ilana Glazer.

With Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood as the backdrop, Ilana pounds the pavement – or at least considers it – in the campaign, which is playing digitally across Nike’s social channels. With only a couple of hours to capture each spot, together Megs and Shamus and Marielle provided Ilana with solid scripts and the freedom to do what she does best - improvising and adding her distinctive Ilana voice to everything.

Keeping things bouncy and fun, Glazer's quest to track down the meaning of the “runner's high” is the perfect vehicle for her cheeky sense of humor. In “Beads vs. Balls,” Ilana spectates from her stoop and attempts Step One: Make contact with runners. In the follow-up film “What’s in it for me?,” she asks crucial questions and considers the lesser-known benefits of running, from carbo-loading to having an ever-ready excuse to cancel plans. In the centerpiece spot “Runner’s High,” Ilana laces up to make the transformation from cautiously curious to Joyride convert.

Megs and Shamus’ non-traditional approach to the creative was steered by the audience they wanted to speak to with these ads - the skeptical and running-averse crowd. With Ilana as the campaign’s muse, the team knew it was possible to nail that ethos and communicate about both the product and running in a candidly honest way.