What Casey Neistat’s “Make It Count” Teaches Us About Emotional Storytelling in Branding

A Weekly Newsletter for BOLD Thinkers | May 11, 2025 | Volume 25 Issue 02

by Stephanie Sabrina Warren

Above: Casey Neistat didn’t just buy the ticket—he took the ride, filmed it, and made the whole world feel something.

I’ll never forget the first time I watched Casey Neistat’s Make It Count. What started as an ad campaign for a fitness tracker turned into something radically different: a global joyride, a cinematic manifesto, and a storytelling masterclass that never even mentioned the product it was supposed to sell.

And yet, it worked. Wildly. Why? Because it tapped into something deeper than features or benefits. It tapped into a feeling.

I’ve watched this video hundreds of times. It’s become my go-to when I need inspiration, a reminder of what it looks like to live boldly, take risks, and tell a story that connects deeply.

The Power of Emotional Universality

Emotional universality is a principle or lens that guides the kinds of stories we tell and the emotions we aim to evoke. Think of it as the emotional foundation that makes stories resonate—especially when they touch on feelings and experiences that are universally human.

At its core, Make It Count is a perfect example of emotional universality in action.

Emotional universality refers to the feelings and themes that every human being understands, regardless of background: freedom, wonder, joy, regret, love, fear, etc.. When we tell stories built around those shared emotional truths, we invite our audience to see themselves in it. We give them reasons to relate and in relating, they feel something.

Even if you’ve never traveled the world or jumped into a foreign sea with your best friend, you’ve likely asked yourself: Am I making this moment count?

That’s the power of emotional universality. It makes someone else’s story feel like our own.

EMOTIONAL UNIVERSALITY APPLIED IN MAKE IT COUNT

There are a ton of great storytelling tactics Casey uses in the ad. Here are just a few that tap into emotional universality.

- Taking the campaign budget and blowing it on a trip around the world: it stirs emotions around taking a big, bold risk, defying the system and doing things our own way, or even betting on ourselves.

- Featuring real relationships, spontaneous moments, and unfiltered joy: it reminds us of friends who supported our wildest ideas or the thrill we’ve felt when living freely and spontaneously.

- Combining quotes, kinetic energy, music, and visual metaphors to create an emotional rollercoaster: the quotes. The quotes! He chose some of the most memorable and inspiring lines. Seeing them on screen, rather than hearing them spoken, gives us a moment to pause and reflect. It’s incredibly powerful.

- Never mentioning the product he was supposed to promote: we forget we’re watching an ad for a fuel band and instead are drawn into a story about identity, something we relate to or aspire to. And that was the brilliance of it. He didn’t make the ad about buying the product. He made it about the shared beliefs and the sense of identity someone who wears a fuel band embodies.

By showing through storytelling instead of selling, Casey turned a marketing campaign into a personal journey. In doing so, he aligned perfectly with Nike’s core brand ethos: Just Do It.

Nike Isn’t About Products. It’s About Beliefs & identities

Nike’s most powerful campaigns don’t focus on products; they focus on beliefs. Their core message, Just Do It, is a call to action rooted in personal empowerment, boldness, and movement.

Casey’s ad perfectly captures that ethos through emotional universality.

Freedom. Unscripted travel across the globe.
Risk. Spending the entire budget without prior approval from Nike.
Courage. Leaving convention behind to chase experience and having the confidence to bet on himself.
Living boldly (we’re all about that here at BOLDideas!). Making every moment count.

In other words: Casey doesn’t talk about Nike. He embodies Nike and shows us what living Nike truly means.

By tapping into feelings we all recognize—freedom, friendship, time, joy, risk—he aligns with Nike’s mission in a way no traditional commercial could.

He Wasn’t Even Wearing the Product!

Casey didn’t wear or mention the Nike+ FuelBand. And Nike still ran the video.

Because the story wasn’t about the product, it was about the identity and beliefs the product represented. That’s emotional branding done right. The brand became the enabler, not the hero.

How You Can Use Emotional Universality

Whether you’re leading a business, building a personal brand, or trying to connect more deeply with your audience, emotional universality can be your most powerful tool.

Here’s how to use it:

1.     Start with a Feeling
Ask: What feeling am I trying to evoke? Is it joy, urgency, courage, connection?

2.    Tell a Specific Story
Personal moments grounded in emotional truth are more relatable than generalized platitudes.

3.     Zoom Out to the Universal
What bigger truth does your story point to? Tie it to something your audience already feels.

4.    Use Movement and Metaphor
Don’t just say it—show it. Motion, visuals, quotes, music, and energy help people feel the message.

5.    End With an Invitation
Instead of a pitch, leave your audience with an open-ended CTA: What would it mean to XYZ (in Casey’s case, Make It Count)

The AD

If you haven’t seen Make It Count yet—or even if you have—watch it through the lens of emotional storytelling. Notice the choices Casey makes: what he shows, what he doesn’t say, and how it all makes you feel. Then ask yourself: What are the core emotions this ad evokes for me and how?

Final Thought

Emotional storytelling doesn’t require a plane ticket or a big budget. It requires honesty, intention, and the willingness to connect through shared experience.

Because in the end, the most powerful stories don’t just promote. They provoke. They leave us different than we were.

And that’s how you make it count.

GOOD READs on the subject of human emotions

Atlas of the Heart:​ by Brené Brown - A deep dive into 87 human emotions and experiences, exploring how naming and understanding them connects us at the core.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - A simple yet profoundly universal story about human emotions: fear, love, hope, curiosity, and finding meaning in the journey. Few books have moved as many people across cultures.

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom - The original memoir about a dying professor and his former student’s weekly conversations. It touches on strong universal emotions including wisdom on love, purpose, regret, and what truly matters.

And last week I shared Viktor Frankl’s A Man’s Search for Meaning - a book that deserves a place on every single list about life and human emotions. If it doesn’t move you on some level, it might be time for a little therapy session!

And one great movie about emotions

Inside Out: Pixar’s movie isn’t just for kids. At its heart, Inside Out shows that all humans experience the same core emotions, no matter their background, age, or culture.