People might equate the Just Do It campaign with Nike’s controversial 2018 ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, which has garnered a lot of both positive and negative attention. This ad celebrates the 30th anniversary of “Just Do It,” and continues a long history of Nike drawing attention to provocative topics.
In 1987, Nike was a distant second to Reebok in popularity and revenue, and they were in need of not only a brand refresh, but something that would set Nike apart from Reebok’s other competition. The company’s co-founder, Phil Knight, looked to the Dan Wieden of the marketing firm Wieden + Kennedy, to create a fresh take for the brand.
Wieden had great ideas but felt as though the theme for the ad needed to be more unified. He heard of death row inmate Gary Gilmore’s last words “Let’s do it” and eventually pitched “Just Do It” to Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike. Knight hated it, but trusted Wieden. Soon after, the first “Just Do It” commercial was released, featuring 80-year-old runner Walt Stack. While the original budget has not been officially disclosed, the assumption is that Knight simply paid an agency fee to Wieden for his firm’s work on developing the campaign.
Soon after “Just Do It” was introduced, Nike became king of influencer marketing. Between 1988 and 1998, Nike spent over $300 million dollars in advertising (AdWeek, 2021). The company used athletes Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and eventually Michael Jordan— beginning a lineup of plenty of athletes from every sport, which was the key differentiating factor in Nike’s Just Do It success. Nikes were not just for one group; the brand is for everyone.
Since beginning their influencer marketing in 1988, Nike has run several marketing campaigns. Although each has a different theme, each falls under the umbrella of the iconic phrase. The beauty of Just Do It is that it transcends a target audience. According to their website, Nike’s mission is to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. *If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
This mission statement is complementary to the history of the Just Do It campaign because it takes out any qualifiers for someone to innovate or inspire. If you have a body, just do it. No excuses, no experience needed. Because of this, Nike has found a way to soar past targeting any one particular audience. Everyone watching an ad is a potential customer, and Nike thrives on that.
Several theories are at play in the Just Do It campaign, simply due to its now-33-year tenure. Originally, in 1988, the Just Do It campaign was a perfect example of media framing. Because Reebok had latched on to the aerobics craze, Nike had the automatic freedom to aim for “everyone else.” By beginning the campaign with a commercial featuring an 80-year-old runner who ran 17 miles every day, Nike positioned the Just Do It campaign from a “no excuses,” or an “if he can do it, so can you” perspective.
Since 1988, Nike has used media framing in different ways, becoming more and more comfortable with controversy. Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, once said, “It doesn’t matter how many people hate your brand as long as enough people love it,” and he was exactly right. Athletes such as Charles Barkley and Colin Kaepernick have been proudly added to Nike’s celebrity lineup. In fact, according to Bloomberg Financial, the Kaepernick ad that ran in 2018 has garnered over $163 million in media exposure, simply from the controversy.
It is difficult to believe that Wieden or Knight had any idea how famous these three words would become. Although it was originally created to sell shoes, the Just Do It campaign has become an important element in peoples’ social identity. If someone agrees with Nike’s values and therefore wears their merchandise, their identity is found in a large group who will not stand for racial, sexual, or socioeconomic injustice. Nike knows people are against their outspoken stance, but not only does it not matter, it is something on which Nike capitalizes. People who support the Just Do It campaign support everything Nike stands for, and in a way, this in-group has made it clear that the out-group is not needed or even pursued by Nike (Walters, 2021).
Another marketing phenomenon that has evolved in and through Nike’s Just Do It campaign is Maslow’s hierarchy. As stated above, of course originally the intent of the campaign was to sell shoes. Brought down to basics, this easily falls under Physiological and Safety needs. People need shoes so their feet are warm and protected. However, because of the movement of the campaign in the past 33 years, it is easy to see how Nike can fit into the third tier—belongingness. The social identity of consumers puts them in a specific group (Walters, 2021).
Further, it could be argued that Nike’s Just Do It campaign serves Maslow’s Hierarchy in Esteem needs as well. Some people buy Nikes because Nike is a valuable brand, and these consumers want to be respected. Finally, it might seem like a stretch, but Maslow’s Hierarchy can even apply to that quintessential top tier— self-actualization. Just Do It is not simply a company slogan; it transcends shoes, or athletic gear, or any other “stuff.” It is a way of life.
Children know about Nike from a young age. Do they know how much a pair of shoes costs? No. Do they care who is in the commercials? Most of the time, no. However, they absolutely know the phrase “Just Do It,” and this is the embodiment of the cultivation theory. The decades-long slogan has become engrained in new generations, and whether or not parents agree with Nike’s values, children know the company through the phrase.
As Nike progresses as a brand, so does their value system. However, Nike is not like other companies that are jumping on the social justice “bandwagon.” Nike has used the Just Do It campaign to stay edgy and vibrant, but also trustworthy and consistent. This is not only a testament to how simplicity works in advertising but also how taking a chance on something pays off in the end. The effects of the Just Do It campaign far overreach those of any other marketing strategy in history.
References
Bella, T. (2019, March 29). ‘Just Do It’: The surprising and morbid origin story of Nike’s slogan. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/09/04/from-lets-do-it-to-just-do-it-how-nike-adapted-gary-gilmores-last-words-before-execution/.
Bloomberg. (n.d.). Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-06/value-of-nike-s-exposure-from-kaepernick-ad-up-to-163-million.
Coffee, Patrick. (2018, September 4). A Brief History of Nike Using Advertising to Address Social Issues. Adweek. https://www.adweek.com/agencies/a-brief-history-of-nike-using-advertising-to-address-social-issues/.
Mission Statement. Nike News. (2021). https://about.nike.com/.
NIKE JUST DO IT: THE HISTORY. Diesel Films. (2018, September 5). http://dieselfilmsinc.com/2018/01/18/nike-just-do-it-the-history/.