Nike.
It's a name everyone, all over the world, knows. I've met little boys in the African bush who ask for a Nike replica jerseys for their national fútbol team: Zambia's Chipolopolo. I've also met people here in America who have been outraged by Nike, particularly regarding their sweatshop practices. Whether you're a fan or a foe, Nike is a global brand.
Since its founding in 1964, and since its huge boom in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Nike has been inspiring us to be 'like Mike'. There are even rumors of a 'jinx' that follows those featured in Nike's ads. This article explains that there may be some credibility to that notion.
So what about the ads holds our attention?
Nike's ad campaigns, while there is some innovation and divergence, has been centered around the same format since the late 1980s. This is in part due to the fact that Nike reverently respects its own past, as this article explains. Its ads use similar layouts, fonts, and color schemes, even across national borders. The only piece of the ad that varies is the subject - the sports icon that represents and rallies his or her respective country. Adrian Peterson, an American football player, and Cristiano Ronaldo, a Spanish fútbol player, are featured in ads that are almost identical to each other, as shown above.
Nike understands that its the heroes themselves who will draw the consumer's eyes. These patriots cause consumers to well up with nationalistic pride, evoking a following from amongst the masses.
In the study of mass communications, we can understand more deeply these and other effects that Nike advertises have on us as consumers:
- Media Effects
- Two-step Flow: Minimalist scholars (those who believe the media affect us indirectly) claim that voters are more motivated by people they recognize than by mass media. This explains Nike's emphasis on the icon. The athlete is the determining factor in most of their ads. Yes, we know the swoosh and the font. We expect those. But the parts of Nike ads that still amaze us - that still draw us in - are the portrayals of our sports gods as being just that: gods.
- Status Conferral: Media attention enhances attention given to people, subjects and issues. This explains athlete participation in these advertisements. Athletes want to be sponsored and advertised by Nike because, as this theory explains, mass media acknowledgement is highly effective at bringing recognizability, a key factor in the business of being famous.
No matter where the fans are in the world, Nike meets those fans by honoring their respective icons. Nike's mission statement is "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world." Its goal is to cover the globe. It inspires the world by turning a footballer, or fútboler, into Hercules in an advertisement. We are awed.
Here are my sources, again:
This article about the Nike jinx
Nike's mission statement
I think Nike is an excellent example of how the two-step flow is apparent in advertising, especially advertising that features not only the product, but also celebrities marketing both themselves and the product being advertised. You also mentioned Nike's branding, which has obviously been an extremely important component to the company's success. By having an extremely recognizable athlete as well as an extremely recognizable brand logo, both parties benefit from the advertising material. As far as foreign relations are concerned, the juxtaposition of a global company with more localized (at least by country) athletes brings up important issues within advertising that involve appealing to an audience not just by brand recognition, but also by the local sports heroes Nike uses.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree about Nike's prominence around the globe. Your post reminded me of my research in globalization when you mentioned little boys in Africa wanting Nike products! I thought their harnessing of glocalization (by using "local" celebrities) was an interesting insight as well. Their mission statement fits perfectly with foreign relations. Nike, as an American company, aims to affect every athlete and wanna-be athlete in the world...a goal I believe they are close to attaining due to their streamlined but localized advertising.
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