Nike has had a bad run in the stock market of late. At this juncture, Nike being Nike will be fighting tooth and nail to gain their money back. This Olympics, I was expecting Nike to come up with something that blows us all away. Maybe like the inspirational “Find your greatness” ad, which, honestly, inspired my running so much back in those days.
Nike to me has always been about the “Just do it” thing: to take action: to become the best that I can be. To become better than I was yesterday. There was a positive connotation to everything I knew about Nike.
However, in this ad, I don’t feel much relevance to the brand identity. I do not associate with this message at all. I now think I do not know Nike at all.
For starters, lets look at the video:
So, the message is pretty clear. The words spoken by Willem Defoe read:
““Am I a bad person?
Tell me. Am I?
I’m single minded.
I’m deceptive.
I’m obsessive.
I’m selfish.
Does that make me a bad person? Am I a bad person? Am I?
I have no empathy.
I don’t respect you.
I’m never satisfied.
I have an obsession with power.
I’m irrational.
I have zero remorse.
I have no sense of compassion.
I’m delusional. I’m maniacal.
You think I’m a bad person?
Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Am I?
I think I’m better than everyone else.
I want to take what’s yours and never give it back.
What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine.
Am I a bad person?
Tell me. Am I?
Does that make me a bad person?”
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Just count the number of words of resounding negativity in that script: Deceptive – Selfish – No Empathy – Don’t respect you – Obsession with power – irrational – Zero Remorse – no compassion – Delusional – Maniacal…
With one fell swoop Nike has managed to villianize all sportspersons who aim to win. Let me just get this clear to anyone reading: I don’t think there is greatness in unsportsmanlike behaviour. Nike seems to be promoting exactly that via this ad. Where did the ad guys get this notion?
Really, I had always been a Nike loyalist. For one, I used to like their shoes. Vaporfly has been great for me (until the Next 3 version). I like their Pegasus trainers. But of late, they have not been getting their shoes to the top of many podiums. What’s wrong Nike? And now you have gotten your messaging wrong as well.
For a brand that has had many glorious jaw dropping, awe inspiring campaigns, this one drops the ball pretty badly. Instead of inspiring and attracting more viewers, this ad is repugnant and repels users by taking an elitist and arrogant stand. No wonder the share price is going down Nike!
I had a 3 year hiatus from this blog and I thought I would be coming back with a nice well thought out piece. But well, I ended up with a rant instead. With ads this bad, I doubt any decent sports loving person wouldn’t feel the cringe.