YB Dong
The True Nature of a Great Ad
In the world we inhabit today, the underlying theme of many commercials and ads
is directly related to sex. How many times have you heard the saying, “Sex Sells?”
Personally, I have grown accustomed yet bored of such advertisements like Victoria
Secret and Abercrombie and Fitch. Advertisements should be based on invoking the
inner emotions and memories of the viewers. Materialism, sex, and immorality all exist in
the ample amounts of print ads provided to the public. I am writing this paper to prove
that an advertisement does not always have to pertain to sex appeal; however a great ad
should invoke the emotions of the audience regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity. With
that said, what commercials truly stand out as great and ever lasting?
Michael Jordan re-defined the term greatness, by performing unforgettable and
unmatchable feats during his career as a basketball player. The Nike commercial “Let
Your Game Speak,” featured Michael’s most renowned moments as an athlete, imitated
by various youths of different ethnicities, age, and gender. After re-visiting this ad, I
received ‘chills’ throughout my body, which is evidence of the commercial invoking my
inner emotions. What is interesting about this ad is the fact that Nike decided to involve
many different types of ethnicities in the commercial. The first four sequences of the
commercial involve young African Americans sticking their tongue out while playing
basketball, which is reminiscent of Michael Jordan. The following sequence appears to
take place in an Asian country with two young Asian boys playing basketball with one
another while imitating one of Michael’s famous moves. Rarely are Asians depicted in
American ads, and if they are, they are mostly stereotyped as “unsociable” or even
“nerdy.” The fact that two Asian boys are imitating the greatest basketball player to ever
walk the Earth, means a lot to me due to the fact that I too, am an Asian basketball player
who always re-enacted the moves of Michael Jordan while I was a child. Although the
cultural aspects of this commercial are vital, there lie subtle textual elements which
greatly enhance the overall perception of the commercial.
Text is not portrayed frequently in the commercial; however at the culminating
point of the ad, the phrase “Let Your Game Speak” is shown. It is an implication that
many people will judge an athlete’s hunger, desire, and heart to succeed, but the only way
to demonstrate those attributes is to show the audience full energy and heart to persevere
at any costs necessary. This phrase is relevant to the commercial, because Michael
Jordan demonstrated those attributes as a basketball player starting from the day that he
was cut from the Varsity team at his high school (AAO), only to become the greatest
basketball player of all time. “Let Your Game Speak” is a subtle phrase with multiple
meanings and significance depending on the audience. What if Nike had chosen a
different phrase or added more textual elements? Would it have been less effective? I
certainly feel that a different phrase or multiple phrases would have greatly diminished
the value of the commercial. Ultimately, the simple phrase at the culminating point of
the commercial was the defining point of the advertisement.
However, textual elements are not solely the given reason of why this particular
commercial is deemed effective. In order for this advertisement to be truly effective the
audience must be able to relate to the general topic of the commercial. The commercial
portrays basketball as an international language which many different cultures can
interpret. With that said, the general audience consists of various ethnicities, along with
gender and age. From a certain perspective, an interesting point of the commercial occurs
when a female is shown playing basketball. An argumentative topic from that particular
scene can be linked to the specific action of the female. Her inclusion may be
argumentative, but it still conveys a positive message in the fact that a female is imitating
a male basketball player. With that scene, Nike attracts an imperative group of the
audience; the female audience. Many types of people are represented in this
advertisements ranging from African American females to Asian youths. The text may
not indicate the specific groups the commercial is intended for, but the scenes and reenactments clearly represent each group of people of the audience. Different groups are
presented in the commercial, but how are their emotions invoked?
The element of emotion is what blatantly separates the average advertisement
from a great advertisement. The linkage of text from a commercial may provide a great
sense of emotion like any average commercial, however the “Let Your Game Speak”
advertisement, invokes the emotion in an unorthodox matter; with the element of music.
The music starts off slow, with a gradual increase in speed and rhythm. Similar to an
essay, the introduction only consists of basic elements, in this case the piano. It then
transitions into the body of the music, which grows with the addition of percussions and
other musical instruments. At the pinnacle of the commercial, the music is loud,
dramatic, and seemingly inspiring. It goes hand in hand with the culminating scenes of
the commercial. After the climax, the music transcends back to the original speed and
dynamics, while the textual emotion is revealed to the audience simultaneously. The
music then suddenly pauses, as Michael Jordan appears for the very first time, and
consequently finishes what seems like an extraordinary journey. The music arouses the
emotions of the commercial in a different way. No way is sexuality present in this
commercial, nor is materialism. It is simply an inspiring theme which appeals to the
memories and love of basketball that the audience can adhere to. Due to the nature of the
music and text, this commercial is separated from all other commercials. It blatantly
stands out not only because the audience’s emotions are aroused, but because of the way
the audience’s emotions are invoked. Uniquely different from the materialistic
advertisements provided to our public today, Nike effectively created an advertisement
that will live in my memory forever, which in my mind, is a great advertisement.
Another intriguing aspect of this advertisement is the selling product of Nike. The
main motive behind the commercial is the celebration of Michael Jordan’s twenty-first
model of his self named shoe line, appropriately titled XX1. The very first scene of the
commercial seems to focus on the shoes of the athlete. After carefully analyzing each
scene, I came to a conclusion that every person impersonating Michael Jordan was in fact
wearing the XX1’s. Going back to the first scene, the camera clearly focuses on the
shoes, and then works its way up to the athlete’s face, who happens to be sticking his
tongue out, in honor of Michael Jordan’s image.
On a side note, the sticking of the tongue can be interpreted in many ways, some
negative, and some positive. In our society, a person can stick his or her tongue out in
disgust or disapproval. However it is interesting to note that the subtleness of this simple
action can go on without any criticism. Why? Because it was Michael Jordan who redefined this particular action. He would stick out his tongue when dribbling the
basketball, going for a dunk, or even out of pure happiness. Nike masterfully crafted this
commercial to suite the taste of the audience, which is quite genius.
Imagery plays an imperative role in this commercial. The visual composition of
this particular advertisement seems to focus mainly on the facial expressions of the
impersonators rather than text. Look carefully at each person’s facial expression. What
do their emotions and body-language show the audience? It quite simply expresses sheer
determination. The focused eyes and tense body language show anticipation and
eagerness to accomplish daunting tasks which have propelled Michael Jordan into
immortality. However, an interesting issue arises when analyzing the visual components.
Color does not contribute much to the advertisement, but Michael Jordan’s number does.
It is intriguing to note that the number twenty-three (Michael’s number throughout his
basketball career) only appears once throughout the commercial. Coincidently, the only
time this number appears, is during the re-enactment of Michael Jordan’s very last shot as
a Chicago Bull, which consequently, was the game winning shot that gave the Chicago
Bulls the National Basketball Association Championship in 1998(AAO). Composition of
text may not play a vital role in this particular commercial, but the visual artifacts in each
scene require careful analysis.
Along with the visual compositions, another aspect of this advertisement is where
the attention of the audience is being drawn to. It is easy to come to a conclusion that the
audience is mainly gazing at the athlete’s who are performing. Internally it seems that
the people in the commercial are focusing their attention on the athletes who are imitating
Michael Jordan. During the scene where the young African male is attempting a dunk
from the free throw line, the camera moves into slow motion. During this slow motion,
the internal audience focuses on the athlete while he performs. It is clear that the main
intent of the audience throughout the commercial is to be dazzled by the improbable acts
of the athletes as they impersonate Michael Jordan. This seemingly affects the audience
who are watching the commercial also. They too, are more inclined to pay attention to
the actions of the athlete rather than the physical surroundings of the scene. Again, the
multiple focus points of this particular commercial provide the foundations of inspiring
and innovating advertisements.
Analysis of commercials never seemed important to me at all, but looking over
various advertisements helped me distinguish great ads from average ones. It is truly
amazing how the scripts and elements of this commercial reflect greatness. The elements
playfully interact with each other to produce emotion in the eyes of the viewer. The
heightened sounds and rise in drama of music, perfectly coincides with the gaze of the
audience, which ultimately provides a sense of climax. The appearance of Michael
Jordan in the closing seconds of the commercial, instills a sense of closure and
authenticity in the audience. Various elements are able to work with each other to
provoke the emotions of the audience. These simple connections, yet brilliant ideas,
prove that a great advertisement does not have to include sex or materialism. How a
commercial or advertisement invokes the emotion of the audience is what clearly defines
a great advertisement. This commercial is a living reminder that “Sex Sells,” but does
not always have to be a required element in advertisements. It is more important to move
the audience in an inspiring matter. Advertisement is a powerful business of great
influence. It is imperative that we as a society strive for companies to carry out
commercials with positive messages. Sex and materialism are not the only aspects of life
known to mankind. What about heart, dedication, and joy? How about the importance of
the will to persevere? That, is something money cannot buy. Let Your Game Speak.
Bibliography
Stein, Marc. “Michael Jordan.” African American Online. 8 April 2008.
<http://www.africanaonline.com/michael_jordan.htm>
YouTube Video Provided at:
<http://youtube.com/watch?v=dBxcunGc_nA>