Nike and the Two-Step Flow

Adrian Peterson Nike Advertisement

Cristiano Ronaldo Nike Advertisement

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: 

Cristiano Ronaldo Nike Advertisement

Chipolopolo

This article about the Nike jinx

Adrian Peterson

Cristiano Ronaldo

Nike's mission statement

Coca-Col-ization: How Coca-Cola Advertising Embodies Glocalization

Yes, you read it right.

Glocalization is a more precise term for the its well-known counterpart, globalization. Before discussing its use in Coca-Cola's advertising, there's a distinction to understand:

  
   

• GloBALization:
• Connection of many cultures that forces homogenization of all cultures.
• Culture 2 transforms to mimic Culture 1.

• GloCALization:
• Products and ideas intended for a global market, but customized to suit local cultures. 
• Culture 2 is affected by Culture 1, but retains some original qualities.

A perfect example of a company harnessing glocalization to advertise to a huge, diverse audience is The Coca-Cola Company.

Check out this Coca-Cola advertisement from their Happiness Without Borders campaign:

Coca-Cola Small World Machines - Bringing India and Pakistan Together 

by The Coca-Cola Company

The video exemplifies both specific trends of effective mass communication and the social process glocalization.

Mass Communication Trends & Effects:                                                               

• Political controversy
• Audiences like conflict. It’s interesting.
• Here, the ad portrays Coca-Cola as a global product that may solve tension between India and Pakistan. 

• Agenda-setting
• The media’s ability to influence what publics think about
• In this case, shedding light on the conflict.

• CNN Effect
• The ability, through emotional video, to elevate distant issues on the domestic public agenda
• Because of the footage in the ad, viewers worldwide feel sympathetic and action-minded toward the situation.

Glocalization:

• By placing the "Small World Machine" in a rural environment, the technology is exciting and novel. So, Coke extends that global image in a local setting. 

• The theme of the video also corresponds with Coca-Cola's ad campaign: "Open Happiness."

Final five seconds of "Coca-Cola Small World Machines"

While Coca-Cola narrowed the content to fit local groups, their "happy" brand remains potent. From individuals drinking Cokes and laughing to the final slogan, neither the American brand nor the locals completely conformed to the other's culture. 

Instead, Coca-Cola combined the local culture with its global trademark and created a perfect example of glocalization in mass communication. 

Check out the full sources for more info.

• Sources used in this article:
• "Defining Glocalization" by The Global Policy Forum
• "Global Modernities" (Chapter 2: Glocalization: Time-Space and Homogeneity-Heterogenity) by Roland Robertson
• "Glocalization as Globalization: Evolution of a Sociological Concept" by Habibul Khondker
• "Happiness without Borders" by Jay Moye
• "The Media of Mass Communication" by John Vivian
• "Transnationalism, Cosmopolitanism and Glocalization" by Victor Roudometof