Ads are one of the mediums brands use to communicate with their customers, current and new. In many ways, ads are what shape the persona of a brand. All the products out there like Coca-Cola, Apple, McDonald’s, give us a feel when we hear their names, as we know them and expect them to do things in a certain way. Most of these feelings come from the way they decide to advertise their brand and products. They do their best to communicate their style to you and, more importantly, make their name known and remembered by you so that the next time you decide to buy a new phone or drink a soft drink, you know what brand to go for. The key is to trigger a good feeling anytime you see or hear the brand name and to me, the master of doing so is none-other than Nike. So let’s check out and see how they mastered the art of associating their brand name with greatness and empowerment.
Commercials That Give Personality
Just Do It! That is the slogan, right? Everywhere you see or hear it, you know it is Nike. Just Do It started way back in 1988 when Nike showed Walt Stack, an 80-year-old man who runs 17 miles every day. The ad was trying to tackle the idea that being old means you gotta stay home and forget about doing hard physical activities. The interesting thing in the ad video is that nowhere in it, you see or hear a word about the Nike brand. It is not even shown visibly what shoe Walt is wearing! You will just see the Nike brand and the Just Do It slogan by the end of the video. This is a recurring theme in almost all of Nike commercials, the message is always the main focus of the ad and the brand name is just considered as the messenger. It is like Nike is a friend of yours who is just pulling your attention toward something interesting it has just seen. In doing so, Nike is associating its name with the message, showing itself as the supporters of a cause, giving their brand some personality that you will always associate them with.
Nike Just Do It Commercial
Going With The Big Name Athletes
Using household name celebrities as advocates of a brand name is not something new and many big-name brands do it all the time. But the way Nike does it is different. Athletes who are in Nike commercials are there to tell their story. In Nike ads, Serena Williams is a strong, hardworking, self-made, female tennis champion who also chose to wear and use Nike products. The same goes for Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Cristiano Ronaldo, and most recently Colin Kaepernick which became a bit controversial. The story not only will get the audience engaged, but also will create a feeling toward the brand that will stay with the viewer whenever they will see or hear the name again.
Find Your Greatness!
Find Your Greatness is one of my favorite Nike ad campaigns. Like all the other ads there is no direct mention of the brand, but this time the stars are everyday people like you and me who are not professional athletes but are good at something that gives them joy and makes them happy. This time it is not about creating a persona but being relating. Now Nike is that friend of yours who understands you and relates to you. This is a very strong tool to have, moving from being just a sports brand to someone you feel you know who supports you and your way of life. Again this is achieved by putting the storytelling in the forefront and downgrading, which actually is upgrading, the brand name to the position of the medium which is just delivering the message to you.
Nike Find Your Greatness Commercials
Stories That Shape Personas
In the end, what it all comes down to, especially in the case of Nike, is the story that not only grabs the attention of the viewer but also shapes the persona of the brand. I am sure Nike makes excellent products that on paper and in real-life use can be better than their competitors, but they do not need to say that all the time in every ad to sell them. What your customer feels about your product is a much greater selling point compared to numbers and charts, and Nike knows that! When the customer goes to the store to buy shoes, what makes them buy one brand over another most of the time is how they feel they know and trust the beans rather than factual numbers they may have seen here and there. Nike ads do a great job of targeting the same field by talking about stuff like social matters, empowering messages, and personal stories. That’s what makes Nike ads different from the others.
