The slogan “Just Do It” is a common one in today’s world. It appears with the Nike swoosh on T-shirts, bags and billboards around the world. It is a powerful statement that sums up Nike as a sports brand. It’s competitive, forceful and direct.
Above, Nike’s 1991 campaign for women was the first to link women’s sports participation with a new type of empowerment
The slogan’s origins were not auspicious, considering how important it is to Nike today. Wieden + Kennedy created it in 1987 to accompany Nike’s first major television advertising campaign. This included commercials for walking, running, cross-training and basketball. Dan Wieden, the founder of Wieden + Kennedy and the author of the Nike line, recalls that each spot was created by a separate creative team. They were all very different. In reviewing the work on the night of the client presentation, we felt that a tagline was needed to bring the pieces together. It should speak to both the most hard-core athletes and those who are just out for a morning stroll.
Wieden’s inspiration came from a surprising place. Doug Pray confesses in his 2009 documentary Art & Copy about advertising that the inspiration for the tagline came from the last words spoken by convicted murderer Gary Gilmore to the firing squad just before he was executed. Nike may not have selected the best brand heritage, but at the time, it was irrelevant. Nobody was sure that the tagline would be effective, and nobody knew what impact it would have.
Wieden says that “creatives at the agency all questioned whether we really needed this.” “Nike questioned it. I replied, “Look, I believe we do. I think we have too many commercials without a tagline that are all different. I’m not attached to it. “We can drop it the next round.
The audience’s response was unambiguous. Wieden continues, “The public surprised us all.” “Immediately Nike started getting letters, phone calls, so did Wieden + Kennedy.
Some people adopted this as a way of life. Nike took this idea and used it in its advertising. Especially in a series aimed at women, which equated a commitment towards sports with empowerment. In 1995, a TV commercial reiterated this message. The commercial features a group of young girls and women who speak directly to the camera, saying a series statements. I will be more confident …. I am 60% less likely than the average woman to develop breast cancer …. I will experience less depression ….I am more likely to leave someone who has beaten me ….I’m less likely to become pregnant before I’d like to ….I’ll learn what being strong means.” The ad ends with the slogan “Just Do It”.
Nike uses the tagline in much of its branding and advertising today. Davide Grasso is the VP of global branding at Nike. He says that “‘Just Do It” remains as relevant today as it did 23 years ago. He continues, “It’s been translated into many different languages.” “One of my favorite examples is the American Foundation for the Blind awarding Nike the 1995 Access Award for the creation and distribution a ‘Just Do It” poster in braille.
