During the ‘Copa America 2024’ match on June 26, Argentina faced off against Chile. In a dramatic moment, Argentine player Nicolas Gonzalez was seen holding a Chilean player’s feet to stop him, but despite this action, Gonzalez was not shown any card. The incident quickly sparked significant discussion and controversy, with a photo of the moment going viral.
Recently, an image circulated widely on the internet claiming that global sportswear brand Nike had used this viral photo in an advertisement. The image showed a billboard and design supposedly created by Nike, leading many to believe it was an official ad.
Check out some Facebook posts with the claim here (archive), here (archive), here (archive) and here (archive).
See related X posts here (archive), here (archive), here (archive) and here (archive).
Fact-Check
The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation revealed that Nike did not create any advertisement using the viral image from the Argentina vs. Chile match. Instead, the billboard and design image circulating online was made by a graphic designer and has no connection with Nike.
A reverse image search of the billboard photo featured in the social media claims brought to a post from an Instagram account called ‘digitallcompany’ on June 28. The caption stated, “Creativity knows no bounds.” A social media user used Photoshop to make this Nike advertisement, which instantly went viral.” (Translated from Spanish).
Further investigation led to a LinkedIn post by an account named ‘Jaime Muñoz’ on June 26, which included the same photo. In the caption, Jaime Muñoz wrote, “The Copa America match between Chile and Argentina created some moments perfect for big brand advertisements. Sharing a quick idea made in Photoshop for Nike.” (translated from Spanish).
Jaime Muñoz’s LinkedIn profile indicates that he works as a Design Coordinator at a company.
Designers often use several kinds of ready-made mockups to realistically present their designs. The billboard photo used in the discussed design was found on the graphic design resource website Freepik through reverse image search.
Moreover, no credible sources reported any such advertisement by Nike. No information was found on Nike’s official website or social media channels about such an ad.
Bottom Line
On June 26, during a match between Argentina and Chile, Argentine player Nicolas Gonzalez stopped a Chilean player by grabbing his feet, creating controversy. The photo of this occurrence soon spread on the internet. Following the match, an illustrator used Photoshop to create a design mimicking Nike advertisement . To make the design appear more realistic, the designer used a billboard mockup and posted it on LinkedIn. The image is currently being used for the claim that Nike utilized the viral shot from the Argentina vs. Chile match as an advertisement. In reality, Nike didn’t create such an advertisement.
Therefore, the claim that Nike used the viral image of the Argentine player grabbing the Chilean player’s feet in an advertisement is false.
Sources
- Rumor Scanner’s own analysis.
- Instagram post by digitallcompany – https://www.instagram.com/p/C8wqGkPJk9i
- Linkedin post by Jaime Muñoz – https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jaimemunozg_chile-argentina-copaamaezrica-activity-7211730980796026881-JgSV
- Freepik – Free PSD ourtoor panel with lights mock up
