SUMARY “WHAT MAKES NIKE’S ADVERTISING TICK?”

Nike is one of the best advertisers; its way of promoting is different from other brands. Usually taking chances on outstanding athletes such as Carl Lewis, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Tiger Woods and The Brazilian Soccer Team. Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, lets the athletes do the speaking for him. It is one out of three factors behind Nike’s extraordinary expansion. Ilie Nastase, the original Romanian tennis bad boy, was one of the first to represent Nike’s advertising attitude. After its expansion, Nike was the best trainer manufacturer in the U.S., but soon lost its way in 1986 when they expanded into non athletic shoe ware and lost its number one spot to Reebok. Knight took a risk with nike when they integrated new air technology within the trainers. David Fincher directed an ad with the song Revolution from the Beatles for that product and then Michael Jordan got branded to AIR JORDANS and the rest is the past. Globalisation is the subject and how American Nike is the question. A 21 year partnership with WIEDEN and KENNEDY helped create the world best advertisements, using a mix of global ad campaigns and local advertising was the key. Their way of advertising is unique and consistent, they do not rely on market researches, they let the marketing directors the power of doing what they want which can lead to some very experimental ads. Wieden says “Only real things that real men and women can do happen in Nike ads” . Their high risk strategy on ads makes the work more interesting for them and the only principle, on which they base it, is to wake up the consumer. There is no other formula concludes Knight.