The campaign, entitled "How I fight", launches on television and cinema throughout July and also includes print, outdoor and new media, all created by Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam.
Wieden & Kennedy said that the idea of the campaign was to challenge South African people, especially young people, to choose sport as their weapon in their everyday fight, rather than violence.
However, the campaign is likely to cause controversy in South Africa with its history of violence and prevalence of guns. South Africa is one of the world's most violent societies and, for a country not at war, it has more gun killings per capita than any other country, beating out the likes of Colombia.
The ads feature a series of sporting activities all centring around the different stages of firing a gun: loading, aiming and firing.
The spot begins with a sprinter settling into the starting blocks with the noise of a gun clocking as it is loaded. We also see a basketball player preparing to shoot, a diver tensing on his toes and a footballer moving in to strike the ball.
After the shot rings out there is a quick succession of movements as each athlete completes their action. In the final scene, a footballer represents the smoking gun as steam rises from his body.
Ashika Kalyan, Nike South Africa's marketing director, said: "It was wonderful to work with local athletes in a South African setting in order to address a national issue -- that every day is a fight for South Africans. But no matter who you are or what difficulties you face, by using your body as a weapon and engaging in sport, you really can bring about positive change in your life."