As I was procrastinating on Facebook (i should really be catching up on readings instead), I saw this Nike advertisement shared by my friend and I felt like it was worth sharing. Unlike many sports commercials, where the marketer had either filled them with endless cliches or confused me of the message behind, this ad managed to persuade me in a clever and concealed fashion.

The ad features their new basketball shoes coming from the Kobe Bryant line; However, instead of showing off the shoes in a series of staged stunts, the ad focuses on the player himself. The narrator begins by stating  “this is how the world works” and is followed by a series of similes between Kobe Bryant and the world. It always starts with a few never-changing facts of the nature and concludes by making a connection to Kobe. The pattern repeats 5 or 6 times in this brief but fast-paced ad and by the end of it, it has planted into the audience’s mind that Kobe’s dominance is the law of nature. The cleverness is how the marketer incorporated the shoes for a brief moment in the midst of all the fast talking and facts about Kobe. As the ad is ended with another strong statement, “this is way it was, this is the way it is, and this is the way it will be”, the focus switches onto Kobe again and the intention of marketing the shoes is delicately concealed from the audience.

The ad ties Kobe with excellence and precisely shines the strong brand image onto its product. The brief sighting of the actual shoes builds a foundation for everything the advertisement says that Kobe represents.

Finally, Fans will count on Kobe, convinced customers will count on Kobe products.

#COUNTONKOBE

Heres the youtube link for the ad,
Nike Basketball | Kobe Bryant: #COUNTONKOBE