Nike Advertisements Through the Years

Jack Winchester

CMJN 3350

Professor Burt

21 April, 2017

Expanded Topic Paper

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The world in which we live is constantly changing and evolving. With our society’s fast paced lifestyle and eagerness to learn and grow, not many things in life can stay the same. Almost every aspect of life today is forced to conform to the needs and wants of people. For instance, advertising is one aspect of life that is always changing with the times. Companies are constantly competing to come up with new ideas and creative ways to promote their products in order to set themselves apart from their competitors. While it is crucial for companies to evolve with the changing atmosphere around them, it is also important for companies to take advantage of the prominent aspects of the time period in which they are advertising. Nike, for example, is a company that has done an impressive job using the biggest names and ideas in sports, since the mid 1980’s, in their tennis shoe advertisements. A great way to analyze these advertisements can be done through the use of three specific analytical approaches founded by David Perlmutter. Through comparing and contrasting the two advertisements using Perlmutter’s context identification, societal and expressional analytical approaches, one will find that Nike is able to advertise their brand as a whole, instead of focusing on their specific tennis shoes, or even showing their tennis shoes at all.

Both of the Nike advertisements feature prominent basketball athletes, but the major elements displayed in the advertisements are vastly different. Charles Barkley was called the “round mound of rebound” during his time as a professional. Many children, and even adults, in the 1980’s and 1990’s sought to be like Barkley. During that time, and even now, there was an idea that in order to play and look like the best, you have to wear what the best wears. It this specific advertisement Nike is advertising their “Air Force One” tennis shoes. Under the bold text Nike explains why Barkley prefers this particular brand and model of sneakers, and asserts that when the best rebounder in the league prefers these shoes, “who’s gonna argue.” It is no secret that the tennis shoes are a major element of the Barkley advertisement, and the main goal is to sell “Air Force One” sneakers. The LeBron James advertisement takes a completely different approach. The major element in the James advertisement is simply a picture of James himself, with text above that reads “We are all witnesses.” While Nike clearly displays their logo in the bottom right corner, they do not strongly push their name or any of their products. While the ideas of using professional basketball players remained the same for Nike, many other context elements between the two are vastly different.

Another major aspect of these advertisements is the period they were released in. The NBA has an extremely large and loyal following, and names like Barkley and James are widely recognized around the globe. The fans are king when it comes to advertisements, and when the Barkley advertisement was released, it appealed to many. Although Nike was not a new company in the 1980’s, they had not separated themselves from the competition like they have now. Because of that, the public needed to see the specific shoes, and needed to know that an athlete like Barkley wore them. In today’s society, most fans know Barkley as a television analyst, and see James as the king, on top of his game. Because of today’s societal view, and Nike’s reputation, advertisements like the James one are extremely popular and successful. The James advertisement proves just how big Nike has become in this day in age.