New Balance Celebrates Shohei Ohtani’s Historic Fourth MVP With “4 MVPs and One Unicorn” Campaign

New Balance is honoring Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented run with a new campaign titled “4 MVPs and One Unicorn.” The short film captures the awe surrounding Ohtani’s record-breaking season — one that has redefined what’s possible in baseball.

The ad opens in a dimly lit arena with a showman surrounded by actual goats, theatrically delivering his monologue about how sports conversations always come back to “GOAT talk.” But just as he builds toward the idea of crowning the greatest of all time, the narrative shifts — because Shohei Ohtani doesn’t fit into that comparison at all. He isn’t a GOAT. He’s something entirely different.

From there, the spot pivots to Ohtani’s singular brilliance, positioning him as a true unicorn in modern sports — an athlete whose talent breaks every framework we use to measure greatness. The ad reframes his dominance not through stats or debates, but through the idea that no category can contain him.

Through a blend of dramatic staging and subtle humor, New Balance delivers a message that’s both bold and understated: Ohtani isn’t part of the GOAT conversation because he exists in a class of his own. A unicorn in a world obsessed with goats.

The campaign reinforces Ohtani’s global impact as a New Balance athlete, spotlighting a partnership built on authenticity, humility, and the idea that greatness doesn’t need comparison — it just needs space to shine.