Nike doesn’t like vanilla ice cream. It does not like safe. It likes Chilli Ginger Balsamic Swirl Ice Cream. Something to titillate the sense. It is the type of company that’ll put pineapples in pizza in Italy. It’s made specially for you. Hope you like it. And if you don’t, well, maybe you should try the cupcake from Lululemon.
“Am I a bad person? Tell me. Am I? I’m single-minded. I’m deceptive. I’m obsessive. I’m selfish. Does that make me a bad person? Am I a bad person? Am I? I have no empathy. I don’t respect you. I’m never satisfied. I have an obsession with power. I’m irrational. I have zero remorse. I have no sense of compassion. I’m delusional. I’m maniacal. You think I’m a bad person? Tell me. Tell me.Tell me. I think I’m better than everyone else. I want to take what’s yours and never give it back. What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine. Am I a bad person? Tell me, am I? Does that make me a bad person? Tell me, does it?”
Nike’s 2024 Olympics campaign has got tongues wagging. To some, the campaign glorifies a maniacal obsession for winning. A “winning at all cost” temper. It’s a questionable value. Society has to be more than that.
Maybe. If Nike was talking to the everyday Joe. But it isn’t. It is talking to competitive and elite athletes. Not you and me. Oh sure, we are all in the Nike repertoire. It’s just not talking to us this time. We’ll recognise our spot when we see it.
Yeah, the campaign may rub people the wrong way. But think about it. Elite athletes compete to win. That’s all they see out there. A medal. A trophy. History. Respect. Money. Eliud Kipchoge didn’t run four of the ten fastest marathons in history to burn belly fat. He runs to win. To kill the dream of other contenders nursing the dream of winning. There is room for only one apex predator on the turf.
Winning is a Nike ethos. Both as a corporate mindset and in its brand message. Before Nike Inc. was incorporated, co-founder Bill Bowerman’s mantra was “The coward never started and the weak died along the way.” That was a mindset he brought into Nike.
When Nike’s first CMO Rob Strasser wrote the legendary “10 Nike Principles,” Numbers 2 and 4 were about winning. “We are on offense. All the time.” “This is as much about battle as about business.”
And remember this Tiger Woods ad?
Nike consistently and effortlessly smashes an elusive advertising golden fleece; make a piece of advertising unmistakably yours.
How many times have Brand Managers expressed frustrations at their creative agency:
“If you remove our logo from this ad, it could pass for any other brand in the category. We need to make the ad ours such that it could only be ours.”
Well, that is not going to happen until you develop a consistent visual style, tone, device or messaging. It takes time. And you have to be deliberate about it.
I sense Nike is evolving a new TV style. It starts with an interesting monologue. One male voice making an exposition. It started with the “Find Your Greatness” TV spot. Then the 30th anniversary spot for “Just Do It” with Collin Kaepernick. And now this “Winning isn’t for Everyone” campaign. The three spots have identical styles of narration (challenges and inspires) and photography. This style may well be a distinctive brand asset for Nike.
I can’t wait for the Paris!