I was looking through some of my classmates’ blogs and one that I really enjoyed was Vingi Lok’s November 4, 2010 post “When the race is on, all bets are off”.
Nike is a well-known brand world wide. Their simple “swoosh” mark can be recognized without even thinking about it. Swoosh = Nike. No question asked. In this particular advertisement, it isn’t “in-your-face” with “Nike” or a swoosh mark all showing up in every shot; rather, a motivational speech with professional athletes captures an audience to give them a sense of hope or motivation in any walk of life they may lead. I find that this speech can be applied to anyone, which allows for Nike to reach out to individuals who may not consider themselves “athletic” or who aren’t necessarily confident with their exercise. Everyone has been set back once in their life. This speech takes note of that and shows viewers that even professional athletes can be set back – it’s just a matter of how you plan to get back at it. By establishing this perspective in this particular advertisement, Nike has created additional meaning behind their brand – now the brand exemplifies hard work, hope, and determination.
Nike already has a high value of branding. Think about it: N. I. K. E. If it wasn’t a brand, what is it? A nonsensical word. Moreover, I didn’t even have to tell you its a sportswear and equipment supplier. They have already defined in their brand through years of established loyalty of customers. Brands facilitate purchasing – Nike signifies quality because you see professionals use Nike products (whether it be shoes, uniforms, helmets) therefore, amateur athletes will purchase Nike products expecting professional quality. Through continuous use of a brand, consumers learn to trust them; moreover, seeing that professionals always use Nike, and you’ve had positive results from Nike products, you stay in the routine of always buying Nike products and your loyalty to the brand will increase.
I think that this advertisement is a great motivational speech because it can apply to anyone at anytime and isn’t very “in-your-face” about it being Nike, like a lot of ads are. I’d even go as far as saying, it’s pretty classy seeing as that it isn’t putting down any other brands and it isn’t using any provocative images… It’s just real. Genuine, really, and in this day in age, that makes it something different.
Thanks for reading!
T