Nike Just Do It Campaign
Nike “Just Do It” Campaign
Meaghan Carter-Morris
Valdosta State University
The campaign I decided to research was the “Just Do It” campaign done by Nike. Named after the Greek goddess of victory, it is no surprise that Nike has been one of the most successful sports apparel franchises in history. The brand was born through the collaboration of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman and Blue Ribbon Sports associate Phil Knight. Seeking a profitable career without giving up his love for sports, Phil Knight ventured out into the field entrepreneurship by taking a trip to Japan upon graduating college. It was there he came across the Tiger brand running shoe. Impressed with the style and low cost, Knight had a few pair shipped to his home in America. It was then he decided to send pair to Bowerman. Both men shared a mutual admiration for the shoe and immediately partnered in attempt to recreate and distribute their version of this shoe. Advertisement agent Dan Wieden has accredited the infamous “Just Do It,’ slogan to Gary Gilman’s (an inmate who demanded his execution be carried out upon being convicted of two murders) last words “Let’s do it.” Originating in 1988, this campaign helped Nike’s share of the domestic sport shoe business from 18% to 43%. In the following paper I will be describing this campaign as well as applying theories learned in class.
In Chapter 2, we studied Attitudes: Definition, Formation, and Measurement. We learned that in persuasion, the objective is to change an attitude, belief, behavior, and/or behavior intention. This relates directly to Nike’s marketing and PR strategy because the first step in selling a product is creating a need for it. By doing this you create a market for that product because you are creating a subconscious “need” for it by the consumer. For example, during the birth decade of this campaign, (the 1980’s) America experienced a fitness craze that sent exercise equipment sales soaring. Nike took advantage of this by
Meaghan Carter-Morris
Valdosta State University
The campaign I decided to research was the “Just Do It” campaign done by Nike. Named after the Greek goddess of victory, it is no surprise that Nike has been one of the most successful sports apparel franchises in history. The brand was born through the collaboration of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman and Blue Ribbon Sports associate Phil Knight. Seeking a profitable career without giving up his love for sports, Phil Knight ventured out into the field entrepreneurship by taking a trip to Japan upon graduating college. It was there he came across the Tiger brand running shoe. Impressed with the style and low cost, Knight had a few pair shipped to his home in America. It was then he decided to send pair to Bowerman. Both men shared a mutual admiration for the shoe and immediately partnered in attempt to recreate and distribute their version of this shoe. Advertisement agent Dan Wieden has accredited the infamous “Just Do It,’ slogan to Gary Gilman’s (an inmate who demanded his execution be carried out upon being convicted of two murders) last words “Let’s do it.” Originating in 1988, this campaign helped Nike’s share of the domestic sport shoe business from 18% to 43%. In the following paper I will be describing this campaign as well as applying theories learned in class.
In Chapter 2, we studied Attitudes: Definition, Formation, and Measurement. We learned that in persuasion, the objective is to change an attitude, belief, behavior, and/or behavior intention. This relates directly to Nike’s marketing and PR strategy because the first step in selling a product is creating a need for it. By doing this you create a market for that product because you are creating a subconscious “need” for it by the consumer. For example, during the birth decade of this campaign, (the 1980’s) America experienced a fitness craze that sent exercise equipment sales soaring. Nike took advantage of this by
References: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/am483_97/projects/hincker/nikhist.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Knight http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Do_It_(Nike) http://www.eugeniolmos.com/ http://blog.oregonlive.com/playbooksandprofits/2008/07/nike_celebrates_just_do_it_20t.html http://www.cfar.com/Documents/nikecmp.pdf