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Just Do It.

Just Do It (stylized as JUST DO IT and set in Futura Bold Condensed) is a trademark of shoe company Nike, and one of the core components of Nike's brand. The slogan was coined in 1988 at an advertising agency meeting. The founder of Wieden+Kennedy agency, Dan Wieden credits the inspiration for his "Just Do It" Nike slogan to Gary Gilmore’s last words: "Let's do it." The "Just Do It" campaign allowed Nike to further increase its share of the North American domestic sport-shoe business from 18% to 43%, (from $877 million to $9.2 billion in worldwide sales) from 1988 to 1998. In many Nike-related situations, "Just Do It" appears alongside the Nike logo, known as the Swoosh.

Impact

Nike's "Just Do It" slogan resonates with many because it speaks to the everyday life limitations that keep people from achieving greatness. Nike stands for self-empowerment, and calls on people to take control of their lives despite physical, economic, and social boundaries.

Swoosh

Nike's swoosh logo is one of the most recognizable logos in the world. It was designed by a student named Carolyn Davidson and first used by Nike on 18 June 1971. Although the swoosh has existed as long as the company, it has evolved over time. In its earliest stage the word Nike, in a lower-case, white, italic font covered the length of a white "tick". Nike hired its first ad agency, John Brown and Partners, in 1976. In 1978, the logo started to become more consistent in its design. In the agency’s first version, the word Nike, in Futura Condensed extra bold, was placed above the swoosh. In 1985, this same version was used on a red background. In 1996, it was decided that the swoosh could stand alone because of Nike’s global recognition. Nike has been signing its ads with just its logo ever since.

Campaign

The "Just Do It" campaign launched in 1988 was highly successful, with the company defining the meaning of "Just Do It" as being both "universal and intensely personal." While Reebok was directing their campaign at aerobics during the fitness craze of the 1980s, Nike responded with "a tough, take no prisoners ad campaign." One of the campaign's objectives was to target all Americans—regardless of age, gender or physical fitness level—and Nike's fundamental objective was to represent sneakers as a fashion statement to consumers, which led to Nike apparel becoming worn beyond just as fitness gear. The "Just Do It" campaign went out to a range of media outlets including merchandise, outdoor billboards, print media, and graffiti art.

Throughout the campaign, Nike enlisted a range of people from varying ethnicities and races, as well as numerous notable athletes, in order to attract customers and promote the image of Nike as being reliable to not only everyday customers but professional athletes. Athletes such as football stars Bo Jackson, Ronaldinho and Wayne Rooney, basketball stars Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant and tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were used in their advertisements.

The campaign embodied Nike's image as an innovative American icon associated with success through the combination of professional athletes and motivational slogans emphasizing sportsmanship and health. This led to customers associating their purchases with the prospect of achieving greatness.

The Beatles' Revolution

Wieden and kennedy selected The Beatles' Revolution (Beatles song) to be in Nike's first major television ad. During this time, Nike got the support of Yoko Ono who explained that she wanted John Lennon's songs to be embraced by a new generation. "So 'Revolution' was licensed for a media campaign that cost between $7 million and $10 million." The black and white advertisement showcased athletes and regular people participating in different levels of sports. This was the start of Nike's theme of empowerment throughout its advertisements.

The very first "Just Do It" ad

The "Just Do It" slogan began in 1988 when Nike aired a television commercial starring former running icon, Walt Stack. The commercial features 80-year-old Walt Stack jogging across the Golden Gate Bridge. Walt Stack chats about how he runs 17 miles every morning, and when asked how he keeps his teeth from chattering in the winter he responds “I just leave them in my locker.” This 30 second advertisement is best known for being simple, yet inspirational.

Bo Knows

In 1989, Nike created a unique Just Do It campaign featuring Bo Jackson. Bo was both a professional football and baseball player. Nike created a series of ads insinuating that his skills extend far past his abilities as an athlete. The “Bo Knows” series is regarded as one of the most memorable commercials of all time. The success of the series dramatically improved Nike’s cross-trainer sales, and regained its position as America’s leading shoe company.

If You Let Me Play

In 1995, Nike released another Just Do It advertisement produced by Widen and Kennedy. The 30-second commercial featured teenage girls describing how sports can make their lives better. The video combines quick and slow-motion shots of the girls on a playground. Throughout the video the girls emphasize that they would benefit from playing sports by quoting statistics about depression, pregnancy, and domestic abuse. The “If You Let Me Play” campaign is an extension of Nike’s 1995 series of ads promoting women’s sports.

2015 Shia LaBeouf internet meme

In May 2015, the performance art group LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner released #INTRODUCTIONS, a half-hour video made in collaboration with Central Saint Martins Fine Art students, comprising a series of short monologues performed by actor Shia LaBeouf in front of a green screen. Each student had been instructed to provide the artists with a script to introduce their work, and the resulting footage was released under a Creative Commons license, enabling the public to freely adapt and remix it. One segment, written by Joshua Parker, in the form of an exaggerated motivational speech dubbed "Just Do It" after the eponymous Nike slogan, became an Internet meme after going viral within days of being released, spawning numerous remixes and parodies, and becoming the most searched for GIF of 2015 according to Google.

30th anniversary and Colin Kaepernick controversy

The "Just Do It" campaign celebrated its 30th anniversary on September 5, 2018 with the release of their video titled, "Dream Crazy". This short video follows in the trend of Nike partnering up with famous or trending athletes and features numerous household named sports figures such as LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Colin Kaepernick.

The involvement of Kaepernick with the advertisement, especially after the context of the controversial act of kneeling during the National Anthem in 2016, gave rise to a whole entire internet debate and social movement against Nike. Many individuals took to Twitter and other social media sites to revolt, adopting hashtags such as, #JustDont or #BoycottNike. Many prior fans of Nike have also showed signs of protest by explicitly demanding that others boycott or even go as far to burn Nike shoes or destroy various other merchandise. Nevertheless, many analysts suggested that the campaign was successful, as the target group of the advertisement has endorsed it.

Michael Jordan

Nike signed Michael Jordan to a contract in 1984. With the help of the greatest basketball player of all time, the Air Jordan product line and Nike’s swoosh symbol became icons of American culture. The annual editions of Nike’s Air Jordan shoes helped expand Nike’s global presence. In 1986, Nike hired Spike Lee to play fictional character Mars Blackmon in the commercial film “She’s Gotta Have It”. After the success of “She’s Gotta Have It”, Lee produced the first Michael Jordan Nike ad “Hang Time”. Lee used the same black and white photography from his commercial film and showcases Mars hanging from the basketball rim while Michael Jordan dunks the ball in the net. The “Hang Time” advertisement helped spread the celebrity image of both Lee and Jordan.

Nike's Air Jordan product line was developed around a 1990 documentary titled "Michael Jordan, Come Fly With Me". The documentary describes Jordan as "the man who was truly destined to fly". The phrase "there is nothing he cannot do" was often accompanied by "Just Do It" to signify that people can be like him too. Jordan was also part of Nike's $10 million dollar initiative P.L.A.Y., an acronym for Participate in the Lives of America's Youth. The 1996 P.L.A.Y. campaign was designed to "present a positive corporate image and promote its products to a youth audience."

Controversy

The most significant response to Nike's Revolution advertisement was the $15 million lawsuit filed by Apple Records. This was an attempt to stop the commercial as Apple Inc. claimed that the advertisement used The Beatles persona without permission. Negative press coverage included allegations of labour issues, creating long-term consequences for Nike. The Revolution advertisement not only propelled Nike into a renowned brand, but exposed the company for its labour issues.

Nike's “Dream Crazy” campaign received backlash after debuting Colin Kaepernick as the face of the campaign. The NFL quarterback gained attention in 2016 after kneeling during the national anthem in silent protest of recent police brutality and oppression of people of colour in the United States. The ads negative response led to people taking to social media in an effort to boycott Nike products. Research conducted by Morning Consult found that the percentage of consumers likely to purchase Nike products dropped by ten percent.