Re 15: Nike – ReInvent
Quick crash course in ads. For a quicker time line of Nike’s commercials (Or if you were born before the 90’s) VIDEO: The Best Of The Swoosh – Nike’s 20 Greatest Commercials.
I’ve always been amazed at how consistently great Nike’s commercials are. I don’t know how they always come up with such captivating ads, whether they be of the humorous or the bone-chilling variety. Wait, I think I do know the answer to that question. Nike probably grosses about $68,374 billion in yearly revenue from their clever little horizontal J logo, which lets them hire the smartest advertising minds to write their commercials and the best athletes to appear in them. But who really cares why Nike always makes such good commercials.
Everyone knows Nike. If not for the name or the gear; they’re known for their commercials. There’s always been controversy surrounding Nike. Not in relation to their works but to the way that they change the way we think. For reference of Nikes past in controversies in social responsibility you can check here. (It is indeed a statement of what they’re doing wrong)
But in all fairness, Nike makes me want to move. They’ve accomplished what they set out to do. Buy their gear. Even if you don’t get off your arse and move. Although many of their commercials are not shown frequently in the USA, or are banned; they’ve creative geniuses working for them.
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Check out the 1995: Let Me Play commercial, oriented to parents of, specifically younger, women. Compare to the females’ commercial and its evolutions. (An Athlete Thing, Mia Hamm/Thank You) In contrast you can see their Europe campaigns. However; that’s not the focus. “Tell Me” is primarily based on expanding what we normally call a sport or who we think of as an athlete. USA Today: Nike serves up new ads supporting women
How many people would honestly tell you break dancing is a sport aside of dancing? (Sofia Boutella / Soria Rem) Or that an older athlete (Michael Jordan / Failure) is just as good, if not better, than a new one? More examples are of women’s boxing.
Aside from social influence and method of marketing; its creativity that makes them successful. Nike’s directors and designers are usually able to avoid vampire creativity. A good definition can be found by Tarun Arora.
People say it is easier to create a memorable advertisement than it is to create an advertisement that makes the product memorable. A number of tests have proved that people often remember a commercial, but not a product. This problem is called vampire creativity. It occurs primarily with advertisements that are too entertaining, too original, too involving, or too provocative.
When the message or product is unseen the commercial has failed. I’ve gone through and watched as many Nike commericals as possible. There are only three commercials where they may have failed. Specifically people either 1. Did not know how to read (Ie: Nike: Warriors) 2. Did not understand the references used (Ie. The reference material is only relatable to the countries the video is shown) 3. People somehow find the commerical offensive. (I personally think a serial killer is a good reason to run)
My brain is now ready to explode with Nike slogans.
01.Jun.09 
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