The story behind Nike’s famous, “Just Do it†slogan
Posted 9 years ago
Ever wondered how Nike’s all time famous, “Just Do it” campaign slogan came into being? A slogan that helped reshape the image of the company to a leader in sports gear!
It is very important to firstly understand, that any brand needs to be able to form a strong connect with its audience for a successful tomorrow. If the brand’s message doesn’t appeal to the consumer demographic it is targeting, it will never see the intended impact it hopes to make.
It was 1987, Health and fitness had started to become an obsession with the rise of problems like obesity in American society. The two main sports companies competing for the top position at the time were Nike and Reebok. Nike was in the midst of a major drop in sales and had to lay off 20% of its work force. A number of advertisements published by the company had failed to make an impact and the top management was in panic mode. Wieden + Kennedy were in charge of the company’s branding and advertising.
In 1976, a notorious and globally known criminal by the name of Gary Gilmore had murdered a gas station employee, Max Jensen and a motel manager, Bennie Bushnell in Utah. Both victims had met his every demand but were still murdered. Not long after, Gary’s cousin Brenda turned him in. The .22 caliber weapon he used to murder his victims was also found hidden in a bush. At the time Utah had two death penalities to choose from, death by a firing squad or hanging. Gary chose the former.
On the morning of January 17th, 1977 at 8:00 A.M, Gary was executed. But as he stood in front of a firing squad, his last words were, “Let’s do this!”
Recalling the infamous killer’s last words, Dan Wieden made a small edit from, “Let’s do it” to “Just Do it” and pitched the idea. This one single slogan proved to be one of the most important and profitable moves in the history of the brand. Consumers’ instantly felt connected with Nike. The slogan had no age, gender or physical ability criterion attached to it. It bred pure energy and the will to achieve that motivated many! The brand’s share in the global sports shoe market shot up from 877 million dollars to a staggering 9.2 billion dollars, making it the leading sports shoe manufacturer. An amalgamation of motivational slogans and endorsements by renowned athletes created a driven environment of encouragement and health awareness that boosted the company’s brand image.
This is one of the greatest and most inspirational examples of how effective marketing and advertising completely changes the way we look at a brand. Nike instilled a sense of eagerness to achieve goals and meet targets in the masses. That’s why the company urges its patrons to not think but take matters in to their own hands. Just Do it.
Swapnil PorwalPosted 9 years agogreat idea come from anywhere even from a criminal also and you make billion dollars
Nikhil ParmarPosted 9 years agoAmazing story, good to know the history behind the tag line.
Swapnil PorwalPosted 9 years agoNike company is the best company who make wonderful shoes and their tagline is superb Just Do it
Mukthadeer Ahmad QaziPosted 9 years agoAwesome
Swapnil PorwalPosted 9 years agoVery good story
rockyPosted 9 years agogood story of nike
Swapnil PorwalPosted 9 years agothis story inspired me to take action on my dreams
Alex Guia RebelloPosted 9 years agoJUST DO IT it's only three words but it captured the entire World's attention . It's my Dream to think of a Powerful ad line which becomes a household name
RudraPosted 9 years agosimply the best one!!!!
Rajesh JainPosted 9 years agoGreat Concepts and story for ad s for every things
Sumit Chauhan Posted 9 years agoA Single Slogan can change the picture of your company and a good slogan can make people more connected to your brand.Other thing is people should keep looking for new ideas in order to improve their business.
zeeshanPosted 9 years agoKip watch
Kaushik MedhiPosted 9 years agoCool story. A million dollar tagline story.
Rajesh JainPosted 9 years agoBrilliant Concepts with great idea
Megha modiPosted 9 years agohad a knowledge of the company
Ganesh Vasudevan NairPosted 9 years agofamous ad storys
Rishi ModiPosted 9 years agoNike is a very good brand
Rajesh JainPosted 9 years agosuperb idea
khushal viradiyaPosted 9 years agoyes, just do it
Devang RathodPosted 9 years agosuperb story...
Megha SonuPosted 9 years agothis story inspired me to take action on my dreams
Md Arsad AyubPosted 9 years agoJust do it......
asgarPosted 9 years agowonderful ad
deepak rawatPosted 9 years agosas
harshavardhanreddyPosted 9 years agoWONDERFUL IDEA
ShellyPosted 9 years agoThanx for sharing the story behind the " just do it" slogan of the globally known brand. Waiting for such many more real story.
ROOMIPosted 9 years agoI NEVER KNEW THIS , NOW I KNOW GREAT WORK
Nisha KolayPosted 9 years agoGreat, good to know the story behind the Tagline.. soooo inspiring.. :) :)
harshavardhanreddyPosted 9 years agoit enhances the peoples knowledge about a product and the reason behind tag line
jyothiPosted 9 years agoNOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE, EVEN THE GREAT PEOPLE BORN FROM THEIR MOTHERS WOMB
rajakumar dasariPosted 9 years agoGreat
K MamathaPosted 9 years agoGood Story .I liked it very much
DevisinhPosted 9 years agoamazing story, thanks for sharing it here.
Ruhi GuptaPosted 9 years agoGreat idea
Ekta GoenkaPosted 9 years agoNike is very good co . Branded shoes are very comfortable to wearand its slogan is also very best
Dr. Anil GuptaPosted 9 years agoI did not know that.
NitinPosted 9 years agoGreat Idea and amazing story
Shivam aroraPosted 9 years agoWOW! AMAZING STORY. ðŸ‘ðŸ‘ðŸ‘ðŸ‘☺
ROHIT KUMAR Posted 9 years agoNice nike
Rahul kalalPosted 9 years agoNice
vaibhav kumarPosted 9 years agoIdeas make change the world
Minal BPosted 9 years agoWow, that's some story. Inspirational indeed. This proves that ideas are there in this world, all one needs to do is to keep the Eyes and Ears open to get some inspiration.
srishtiPosted 9 years agogood
AmithPosted 9 years agogood to know the history behind the tag line.
sanchit balanaPosted 9 years agoAwsome story
KAUSHIK GARAIPosted 9 years agoAmazing story
Anil Kumar SadaranganiPosted 9 years agoAmazing story, good to know the history behind the tag line.
shikharPosted 9 years agowow great story.nice to read about nike an knowing fully about the slogan
krishnaPosted 9 years agogreat
krishnaPosted 9 years agoNike---lets do it..........nice caption
BABU LAL BAIRWAPosted 9 years agonice
Manikandan SelvamPosted 9 years agoAwsome
lokesh kumarPosted 9 years agoNICE STORY
SAT WINDER KAURPosted 9 years agoGood idea
RahulPosted 9 years agoGood story, the story inspired me to take action in my life
krishnaPosted 9 years agoAmazing Story
ANUJ RANAPosted 9 years agoawesome.......
Arun KumarPosted 9 years agoAmazing story, good to know the history behind the tag line, great idea come from anywhere even from a criminal also and you make billion dollars
Raoof MohiuddinPosted 9 years agoinspiring storyy
HARISHPosted 9 years agomotionlessness story
ANUJ RANAPosted 9 years agonice story
Nooreen saba Posted 9 years agonike so famous
Sunil J VarghesePosted 9 years agoAlthough a criminals last word witha little bit edit.. it is inspiring
Udit Pratap KujurPosted 9 years agogood story
harshalPosted 9 years agoknowledge and idea can make one richer and richer.
harshalPosted 9 years agowow nike company is very very good company just go for it.
RahulPosted 9 years agoNice one
jpdeviPosted 9 years agoNike is good branded company .
munish kumarPosted 9 years agovery good
Rahul kalalPosted 9 years agoNice
Yogeshwar Giri GoswamiPosted 9 years agoGood story about the company nice tag line
vaibhav kumarPosted 9 years agoIt's very inspirational tag and I also trying to do their startup...God Bless us.
Sahil GuptaPosted 9 years agoInspiring story
salman haidetPosted 9 years agoI like it
AMIT KUMARPosted 9 years agoAmazing story
YOGESHKUMAR DEKATEPosted 9 years agohgjhj
atulPosted 9 years agoAmazing story
Soumen SinhaPosted 9 years agoYes
YOGESHKUMAR DEKATEPosted 9 years agoghnvj k,n
JustinPosted 9 years agosuperb story..
Vishwas sansanwalPosted 9 years agoOwsame story!
SumitPosted 9 years agonice info
Susmita Gour Posted 9 years agoAmazing story
Ganesh Vasudevan NairPosted 9 years agonice to know!!
Ganesh Vasudevan NairPosted 8 years agonice info
YOGESHKUMAR DEKATEPosted 8 years agonice
saqlainPosted 8 years agoNicely done
AmithPosted 8 years agoWonderfull story
rameshPosted 8 years agoNice
Musadiq SHARIFFPosted 8 years agoGood post awesome idea
AnuragPosted 8 years agoCoolllll
Ganesh Vasudevan NairPosted 8 years agowhat an idea sirji!!!!
Vipin S BhagatPosted 8 years agook good
M CHANGMIPosted 8 years agoThese are great lesson! I inspired by it.
AnuragPosted 8 years agoFav brand
Santoah Kumar NayakPosted 8 years agogreat idea come from anywhere even from a criminal also
Man Bahadur BahadurPosted 8 years agoI and your work
Jimmy JoyPosted 8 years agoA clear cut case of how creativity works. Hence most creative people read and interact a lot to get inspired for their next big idea.
This also goes to show how important a slogan or ad line is important for a product.
gufranPosted 8 years agonice story
MohitPosted 8 years agoI just love Nike products
Mohommed ZiaurrehmanPosted 8 years agoAmazing story
s praveenPosted 8 years agogreat idea
saranyaPosted 8 years agoInnovative story.
radhaPosted 8 years agoInteresting
vipulPosted 8 years agoThis story inspired many people
Manzur IlahiPosted 8 years agosimply the best one of us
Ganesh Vasudevan NairPosted 8 years agogreat story
shubhamPosted 8 years agonike is one of kind.
Aditya RajPosted 8 years agoawesome
AMithPosted 8 years agoGood
RiyaPosted 8 years agoGreat catchy ad that will never ever be outdated ever. One iconic liner.
kashmir SinghPosted 8 years agoHad a knowledge of the company.
Magesh.nPosted 8 years agoSimply to say so much of truth behind just do it ! that really pumped me much to get over with nike !
Balasiewdor KharsyntiewPosted 8 years agoMy favorite brand
NitishPosted 8 years agoGood story behind this.
Anupama KAMRAPosted 8 years agoUseful and inspiring story
MamtaPosted 8 years agoNice
saurabh mendhemendhePosted 8 years agoAwesome
Debashis Ghosh Posted 8 years agoThis is a great company and this ad justify this company as you can do works as well as you can run , jumping etc with wearing this shoes .
PalakPosted 8 years agoI like it most
munnerPosted 8 years agoThis story for inspire..
SHANTANU GHOSHPosted 8 years agoCLASSICS ARE FOREVER
Subramani S MPosted 8 years agoLike it
yuvrajsinhPosted 8 years agomost money idea
SHANTANU GHOSHPosted 8 years agoRARE CLASSICS: "JUST DO IT"
SHANTANU GHOSHPosted 8 years agoCLASSIC AD
GIRISH KISANPosted 8 years agoJust do it
MeghaPosted 8 years agoInteresting story behind arguably the most inspiring ad campaign! It tells you how successful people would see an opportunity in the gravest of events that unfold.
ponbakyarajPosted 8 years agogood...........
neerubansal80014@gmail.comPosted 8 years agoAmazing story
SHANTANU GHOSHPosted 8 years agoCLASSIC IDEA
AnimaPosted 8 years agoVery good
priyaPosted 8 years agoGood it seems
SumithPosted 8 years agonice story .
Rohit SamadPosted 8 years agogood thought
dineshPosted 8 years agoIts the first time I am hearing about its advertising success .earlier I had learnt of origin of its name -based on any tribe in America .it's good to find another half story of its success .
Perspective of people depends the way a person thinks that's why Wieden instead of calling 'Let's do this ' origin of a notorious mindset he grabbed the depth in the quotation .this is the power of word which any one can quote .lts world known that Nike is a huge success .so ,the message is very simple ,look everywhere if you are a struggler.what if you also achieve your success or right mindset like Nike did? So................Just Do It .
pujaPosted 8 years agoIt's a great
SONU YADAV Posted 8 years agoAwesome
sanilPosted 8 years agothere is a real story behind every logo. Nike has too.
MariyamakilPosted 8 years agoGood story with excellent tagline
PorniPosted 8 years agoGreat thins just do it..
sujeet kumar singhPosted 8 years agoNice
Jyoti agarwalPosted 8 years agoToo good and nice story everyone should read to get knowledge..
ARCHANA DHIWARPosted 8 years agoNICE
sujeet kumar singhPosted 8 years ago@@@superb
Sushant RasalPosted 8 years agoGreat inormation
Dasarath MinzPosted 8 years agoLike
Sharad GaikwadPosted 8 years agoThis story for incredible
Sharad GaikwadPosted 8 years agoStory was very good
GARIMAPosted 8 years agobrilliant work
chandan lalPosted 8 years agoGood Story, Thanks for Sharing
Devinder singhPosted 8 years agoadytude is a very cool and stylish website for everyone who wants to win something for free
lillykuttyPosted 8 years agoBest and fabulous story
MehreenPosted 8 years ago✌nice idea
krishnaveniPosted 8 years agoNIke have verity of designs and quality is 100% good. nice reivew.
K RNS PAVAN KUMAR VARMAPosted 8 years agoi dont know what to do by knowing this, will i have to plan a robbery?
pranaliPosted 8 years agogood story..
rameshPosted 8 years agoVery good story
PreethiPosted 8 years agoSuperb
RaghavanPosted 7 years agoSuperb !!!
AsifPosted 7 years agoOj
shivam yadavPosted 7 years agoI love Nike brand
Ghanashyam PustiPosted 7 years agoNike sport shoes gives different looks even in sports stages or any where else.
MarcPosted 7 years agoWhoa..certainly, these classic old ads hold a special place in the eyes of the beholder !
RaghavanPosted 7 years agoIdea always changes your lives
NandiniPosted 7 years agoUnique ideas!!!
rajendraPosted 7 years agohmm nice story
AnkushPosted 7 years agoMotivated tagline
ANTARA VERMAPosted 7 years agogreat ad!
Sharad GaikwadPosted 7 years agoNike was most powerful brand in india and very good story for this
SUPARNA GHOSHPosted 7 years agoPLZ TELL ME HOW CAN I UPDATE MY PROFILE PHOTO
NGASHEPAM BINOD KUMAR SINGHPosted 7 years agonice and meaningful
avaniPosted 7 years agogreat idea..very interesting good to hear
KhushiramPosted 7 years agoThis is joyful
Vikash pandeyPosted 7 years agothis viedo great idea even from a good history
Sahil ChauhanPosted 7 years agonice history about my favourite company
GOURAV SHARMA Posted 7 years agoso this is the story behind just do it
Saurabh kumarPosted 7 years agoOsam
nurful islamPosted 7 years agofgata fati
AsifPosted 7 years agoGreat thinking and impressive
CasperPosted 7 years agoIt not just slogan...it's an inspiration...
"Just do it"....
yasaPosted 7 years agogood story awesome company.
rohitkhalkho@yahoo.comPosted 7 years agoamazing story it is inspring story it si better to know about history
Vikash pandeyPosted 7 years agoThis ad show great idea to show about how to done with positive or negative thinking
Ghanashyam PustiPosted 7 years agoA last word just do it has proven miracle.Two brands have captured the whole market.
virender singh negiPosted 7 years agonike is a branded shoe company.
Bhuwan Chandra Tewari Posted 7 years agogreat idea come from anywhere even from a criminal also and you make billion dollars
maheshnn66Posted 7 years agoawesome story
BareaPosted 7 years agoOwsm story....this creats customer interested in ur brand...love it...do it
Sanjeev kumarPosted 7 years agoThings will be automatically great ehen ideA will br great
Kuldeep SinghPosted 7 years agoTo good
Krishnaveni KPosted 7 years agogood story
Menoka DekaPosted 7 years agogreat
mehartajPosted 7 years agonice
prudhviPosted 7 years agogood product from this company brand
Vikash pandeyPosted 7 years agoGreat idea any way crime make big person so i kindly inform you that please stop crime to live better way in life
Ghanashyam PustiPosted 7 years agoNoble idea even a criminal.Thanks lot
Sadiya Alli AshraffPosted 7 years agoJust got to learn something new about our favourite brand.!!
SatyavratPosted 7 years agoJust Do It
Kulamani SorenPosted 7 years agogreat story behind the slogan.......
satyamPosted 7 years agoNike is nice
Sandeep kumarPosted 7 years agoGreat idea.
Priyanka GhatalPosted 7 years agoWow creative idea this story all of inspired to make action
Virendra chauhan Posted 7 years agoLet's do it. And just do it...its nice quote is like u think so do u anything,
and u don't think so don't anything.
EbenezerPosted 7 years agoNice Article.... Really it inspiring lot of people.... Thanks for the best article....
AMAN GUPTAPosted 7 years agoWhat n idea
Sashimi Posted 7 years agoThe story is interesting
Melvin TomPosted 7 years agoFabulous, Mind blowing, Wonderful idea
Melvin TomPosted 7 years agoMind blowing, Boblastic and supercool ad
ArjunPosted 7 years agoGood to know the story behind this tagline. Just Do It is indeed a very striking and strong tagline, waiting for more such stories.
Nitin Arnold VictorPosted 7 years agoWell... That's sick..
kulwinder singhPosted 7 years agoGOOD KNOW TO HISTORY
balraj singhPosted 7 years agogreat
nasir khanPosted 7 years agoVery good
sharadPosted 7 years agoMen will b men
Pradhumansinh BasiaPosted 7 years agoTruly inspiring story.. I didn't knew about this before.
Vanitha SPosted 7 years agosuperb idea and different effective marketing and advertising .
Bhaveshkumar Arjunkumar RawalPosted 7 years agoGreatest Story...
Subrat MohapatraPosted 7 years agoBest shoes industry from ancient time
KeerthiPosted 7 years agosuperb wonderfull story......
nazakat ali bhat Posted 7 years agogreate id
ABHISHEK Posted 7 years agoInteresting story
riaPosted 7 years agovery intresting
Salauddin MondalPosted 7 years agoGood Brand...
Rahul hamadPosted 7 years agoBe a gud observer..
AnitPosted 7 years agoNice story
Sameer KarekarPosted 7 years agogood
devinderPosted 7 years agowhat a brain to pick up these last words and make it advt line
Hari Kumar BoraPosted 7 years agoNice
RanjanaPosted 7 years agoInteresting
DeepakPosted 7 years agogood story....
vivek sapikePosted 7 years agoChhhggkj. Dhvxg djidg vjksfbvsr vdhv yux gch. Hxgg. Yjcc. HV. Hug
Kanika ShriyanPosted 7 years agoInteresting Read.
SujataPosted 7 years agoAmazing
SafuraPosted 7 years agoNice story
Jaswinder singhPosted 7 years agohttp://f2n.in/KHQWHPYHNPP
SujataPosted 7 years agoGood
Tapati PurkayasthaPosted 6 years agovery good story to enjoy
Tapati PurkayasthaPosted 6 years agoGOOD STORY
Tapati PurkayasthaPosted 6 years agoGREAT SHOE COMPANY
sujit.purkayasthaPosted 6 years agonike is best
Tapati PurkayasthaPosted 6 years agoFamous brand
sujit.purkayasthaPosted 5 years agoNike is a best shoe company
sujit.purkayasthaPosted 5 years agoNike brand of shoes are best in the globe
Tapati PurkayasthaPosted 5 years agoNike brand is best
sujit.purkayasthaPosted 5 years agoThe story was nice .It is true nike is manufacturing best sport shoes