Memorable Marketing Campaigns – 3.NiKE, ‘Just Do It’

The Nike brand has become so strong as to place it in the rarified air of recession-proof consumer branded giants, in the company of CocaCola, Gillette and Proctor & Gamble. Brand management is one of Nike’s many strengths. Consumers are willing to pay more for brands that they judge to be superior in quality, style and reliability. A strong brand allows its owner to expand market share, command higher prices and generate more revenue than its competitors. With its “Just Do It” campaign and strong product, Nike was able to increase its share of the domestic sport-shoe business from 18 percent to 43 percent, from $877 million in worldwide sales to $9.2 billion in the ten years between 1988 and 1998. Nike spent $300 million on overseas advertising alone; most of it centered around the “Just Do It” campaign. The success of the campaign is that much more remarkable when one considers that an estimated 80 percent of the sneakers sold in the U.S. are never used for the activities for which they have been designed. 

The “Just Do It” campaign seemed to capture the corporate philosophy of grit, determination and passion, but also infused it with something hitherto unknown in Nike ads—humor. Nike had always been known for its “detached, determined, unsentimental” attitude.  “In a word, [Nike is] cool.” The “Just Do It” campaign was also effective in reassuring consumers that the brand they picked, Nike, was a quality brand. This was most effectively portrayed by celebrity sports figures such as Bo Jackson, John McEnroe and later, Michael Jordon. If Michael Jordan can play an entire NBA season in a pair of Nikes, certainly the average weekend warrior can trust the shoes’ durability.