Backwards Brief: Nike
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Backwards Brief: Nike
Jason Miller
Applied Marketing Communication Theory
Professor JoAnna Williamson
6/15/2014
Backwards Brief: Nike
Analysis of the Creative Brief Process
“Money, it’s gotta be the shoes!” This classic quote by Spike Lee in the original “Just Do
It” advertisement by Nike turned out to be an iconic saying and one that many reminisced as the
footwear and apparel giant celebrated the 25th anniversary of the advertising campaign last year
(Taube, 2013). As the leader in the domestic footwear industry, Nike is obviously a brand
familiar to many consumers. Not only is Nike the most recognizable name in the footwear
industry, however, it really only has one competitor that truly challenges for a piece of the
market share in the industry—Adidas. In fact, nearly 83% of sales revenues in the footwear
industry were contributed by Nike (47.1%) and Adidas (35.6%) (Bidness Etc, 2013).
One reason contributing to the dominant force Nike has created within the footwear
industry is its effective advertising campaigns, which still are primarily guided by its trademark
slogan introduced in 1988. Unlike many consumer brands that change their slogans often, Nike
sticks to what got them to the level of success it has obtained. Nike does create various
campaign themes, however, and one introduced in August of 2013 was titled “Possibilities”.
According to Nike, this particular campaign “takes "Just Do It" from inspiration to action,
enabling viewers to participate in challenges through the Nike+ digital ecosystem (Nike Inc.,
2013).” Nike has utilized advertising to generate the perception among consumers that its
athletes inherent strong motivational characteristics and a desire to succeed, and the
“Possibilities” campaign not only builds on this philosophy, but takes it a step further.
One of the goals of this campaign was to get more consumers to use the Nike+ Running
mobile app and complete the challenges presented. The focus on mobile advertising is greater
now than it ever has been before, with mobile advertising revenues up 110% to $7.1 billion from
2012 to 2013 (Hof, 2014). Not only is Nike attempting to promote its Nike+ Running app in this
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Backwards Brief: Nike
new campaign, but it seeks for consumers to engage in sharing their accomplishments with
others—further promoting the Nike brand.
The objective of this particular advertisement falls directly in line with the objective of
entire “Possibilities” campaign—to urge viewers to reach new heights and achieve the
impossible. From a middle-aged woman running a mile to running a marathon, to a teenage girl
playing table tennis to playing tennis against Serena Williams, to a young boy playing basketball
with a friend to competing with LeBron James in a dunk competition—Nike communicates to
the audience that its athletes push themselves, set lofty goals, and consider nothing impossible
(Thielman, 2013).
As for defining the target audience, a specific group cannot really be targeted. However,
any individual between the age of 18-40 that plays a sport, runs, or engages in some kind of
physical activity would be considered the primary target. This is quite a broad consumer base,
but Nike offers such a wide variety of styles and features in footwear that it can be attractive to
such a large target market. Nike’s mission it to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete
in the world”, with an athlete being defined as any person with a body (Nike Inc., 2014).
When Nike introduced its “Possibilities” campaign last August, it did so with the
intention of taking the “Just Do It” slogan to another level by displaying how Nike branded
products can aid in achieving more difficult goals. The variety of challenges and scenarios
featuring a cast of all-star athletes was very effective in regards to achieving the philosophy Nike
intended to communicate. By portraying teenagers competing against professional athletes, Nike
characterizes individuals who wear its products as those who are determined to set higher goals
and achieve them. At the conclusion of the ad, a URL is displayed which leads viewers to the
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Backwards Brief: Nike
Nike+ homepage. Nike is attempting to increase Nike loyalists’ engagement in its Nike+
Running mobile app, which allows a user to set, track, and share personal goals.
Perhaps no athletic footwear or apparel brand has a more elite lineup of brand
ambassadors than Nike, and this reality strongly supports its advertising campaigns which inspire
athletes to be the best at what they do. Sponsored athletes that don the famous Swoosh logo
include LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Kevin Durant, Calvin Johnson, Cristiano
Ronaldo, Mike Trout, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer (Opendorse, 2013). Many of these
athletes are considered the greatest in their respective sport, and Nike strongly uses this to its
advantage when devising advertising campaigns.
The perception of a Nike athlete in this advertisement is an individual who has the goal of
being the best—and to do that, one has to beat the best. Bradley Cooper does a fantastic job as
the voiceover with his wry comments and challenges, and offers motivation to the viewers to set
higher goals, train harder, and silence the doubters. This 90-second spot was likely quite
expensive to produce, but Nike prides itself on being the best in the industry and this
advertisement certainly reflects that attitude.
Analysis of the Facets Model
Wieden + Kennedy, the advertising agency responsible for the strategy behind this Nike
advertisement, likely had a strong understanding of the Facets Model which provides key
guidelines for developing an effective marketing communication plan (Thielman, 2013). By
explaining how and why consumers react to advertising, the Facets Model explains six different
communication objectives an advertisement can communicate as well as a consumer’s response
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Backwards Brief: Nike
to those concepts (Williamson, 2014). As for this advertisement, Nike achieved the perception,
emotional, association, persuasion, and behavior objectives.
First and foremost, an advertisement has to get noticed in order to be effective
(Williamson, 2014). Considering this reality, making a good impression and developing a
positive perception is likely the most important objective for an advertiser to achieve. With the
illustration of teenagers competing against professional athletes in the Nike advertisement, the
viewer’s curiosity and attention is piqued immediately. These scenes are meant to tantalize the
senses of the audience and are very effective at doing that as it is not an everyday occurrence for
a young teenage boy to compete against LeBron James in a dunk contest.
This Nike spot also achieves the objective of being emotional as it produces a desire to
succeed among its viewers. Many times “our emotional responses to a message determine
whether or not we pay attention,” and this particular advertisement is effective in terms of
evoking an emotional response (Williamson, 2014). Dreaming big and aiming to beat the best are
two attitudes depicted in the scenarios throughout the advertisement, and it communicates that
individuals who wear Nike products will have the confidence to achieve an accomplishment that
may seem impossible.
Association, the “technique of communicating through symbolism,” is apparent in many
Nike ads including this one (Williamson, 2014). As mentioned previously, Nike strongly relies
on its elite sponsored athletes to promote a brand that prides itself on being the best in its class.
The characteristics and qualities of the top professional athletes are strongly desirable, and
associating the Nike brand with these professional athletes generates a positive perception among
viewers as they dream of reaching the level of success Nike sponsored athletes have achieved.
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Backwards Brief: Nike
Creating a persuasive message is not possible without the inclusion of a motivation factor
(Williamson, 2014). Nike’s slogan, although very simple, is actually quite motivating. Not all
athletes have the same level of motivation and this reality can be contributed to both hereditary
and environmental factors. Simply put, some people are self-motivated and truly desire success
while others need constant inspiration and encouragement from others. This Nike advertisement
does an effective job of providing that sense of inspiration and encouragement to athletes, further
enhancing the perception of the Nike brand.
It is unlikely that all the teenage boys who view this advertisement and have an interest in
basketball will reach out to LeBron James and challenge him in a dunk contest. However, Nike
does urge athletes to set higher goals and take action and the scenes displaying amateurs
challenging professional athletes is an entertaining way to provide motivation. The Nike+
website is displayed at the conclusion of the commercial, which represents the call to action. The
ultimate goal for Nike is not just to inspire viewers, but to induce them into making a purchase.
Advertisement URL:
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-nike-tests-your-limits-it-redefines-just-do-it-25-151974
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Backwards Brief: Nike
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References
Bidness Etc. (2013, November 5). Nike (nke) industry analysis. Retrieved from
http://www.bidnessetc.com/business/nike/industry-analysis/
Hof, R. (2014, April 10). Online ad revenues blow past broadcast tv, thanks to mobile and video.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2014/04/10/online-ad-revenuesblow-past-broadcast-tv-thanks-to-mobile-and-video/
Nike Inc. (2013, August 21). Nike redefines "just do it" with new campaign. Retrieved from
http://nikeinc.com/news/nike-evolves-just-do-it-with-new-campaign
Nike Inc. (2014). About nike, inc.. Retrieved from http://nikeinc.com/pages/about-nike-inc
Opendorse. (2013). Top 100 highest-paid athlete endorsers 2013. Retrieved from
http://opendorse.com/top-100-highest-paid-athlete-endorsers-of-2013/
Taube, A. (2013, September 1). 25 nike ads that shaped the brand's history read more:
http://www.businessinsider.com/25-nike-ads-that-shaped-the-brands-history-20138?op=1
Thielman, S. (2013, August 21). Ad of the day: Nike tests your limits as it redefines 'just do it' at
25. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-niketests-your-limits-it-redefines-just-do-it-25-151974
Williamson, J. (2014). MCM 731 Course Pack. Pearson.
Backwards Brief: Nike
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APPENDIX A
CREATIVE BRIEF
Client: Nike
ASSIGNMENT
The goal of this advertisement is to build upon Nike’s recently introduced “Possibilities”
campaign, which takes its “Just Do It” slogan a step further by urging consumers to push their
limits and reach goals that may seem impossible. The new advertising campaign has a strong
focus on getting consumers to physically take part in Nike+ Running and NikeFuel challenges,
two services offered by Nike which allows an individual to set and track personal goals. Nike
wants to grow its Nike+ digital ecosystem and encourage users to share their achievements on
the Nike+ Running mobile app.
OBJECTIVE
The objective is to assist Nike with creating an effective broadcast advertisement by focusing on
its “Possibilities” campaign which urges viewers to reach new heights and achieve the
impossible.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The target market for this campaign will be anyone between the age of 18-40 who engages in
physical activity and has interest and desire to achieve personal goals. This broad target group
can include individuals that play a sport, run, or engage in any other kind of physical activity
with the goal of improving their health, confidence, and overall well-being. Nike explains in its
mission statement that if a person has a body, they are considered an athlete. The goal is to
inspire every athlete and provide them with innovative products and services.
KEY BENEFITS TO COMMUNICATE
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Nike’s innovative products and services can assist individuals in achieving more difficult
goals
The Nike+ Running mobile app enables precise setting and tracking of personal goals
with the Challenge feature
Individuals who train in Nike products should not consider anything impossible
Backwards Brief: Nike
SUPPORT INFORMATION
Many of the top athletes in the world train in Nike products, and this can inspire and motivate
athletes at any level to set higher limits and attempt to achieve what no one believes can be
done.
BRAND PERSONALITY
In the advertising campaign, the perception of a Nike athlete will be an individual who has the
goal of being the best—and to do that, one has to beat the best. Athletes of a wide variety of
age groups will be shown playing a particular sport, and then offered a challenge by the
voiceover of Bradley Cooper to challenge and beat the best player in that particular sport. Nike
athletes will be depicted as individuals who push themselves, are fueled by doubters, and
possess an inner strength and motivation to exceed all expectations.
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