You have surely seen over the years a lot of Nike ads: in TV commercials, magazine ads, or outdoor ads. In this article, we’ll look at the Nike advertising campaigns.

Nike is using one of the most successful advertising strategies: it promotes its products by signing sponsorship contracts with professional sportsmen, celebrities, and college athletic teams.

The first Nike TV ad was launched in 1982, created by a pioneer agency (Wieden + Kennedy), while the NY Marathon was being broadcasted.

Nike ads became better and better as time went by, and Nike w named Advertiser of the year event two times (1994 and 2003). The honor was given by the Cannes Advertising Festival, and Nike is the first company to have been granted this award twice.

Nike is also a double winner of the Emmy Award for the best commercial – the first time was when they launched their ‘Morning After’ Nike commercial, exposing the satiric perspective of the morning running difficulties, and predicting the Y2K problem (2000), while the second Nike advertisement was for ‘Move’, a series of professional and ordinary athletic pursuits.

Nike was also among the first internet marketers using email to promote its products and using narrowcast communication methods to develop their Nike advertising campaign and to boost sales.

Side note: Do you want to increase your chances of getting a better design job? Get a Graphic Design Specialization from CalArts (California Institute of the Arts).

Going through memory lane to learn about Nike magazine ads and TV commercials

Nike 6.0

During its 6.0 campaign, Nike took the brave step of introducing a line of printed T-Shirts using Nike slogans such as ‘Get High’, ‘Dope’ and ‘Ride Pipe’, supposed to be a sports lingo rather than a phrase recommending drug use.

Thomas Menino, the Mayor of Boston at the time, protested against these T-shirts and asked Nike to remove them from their windows.

Nike protested, saying that the Nike sayings promoted extreme sports, and had nothing to do with condoning the use of illegal drugs. Regardless of what they said, the Nike campaign was forced to remove the shirt line.

The apparel deal and NBA uniforms

In June 2015, Nike entered an 8-years collaboration with NBA to be their league’s official supplier starting in 2017/2018.

The contract replaced NBA’s long collaboration with Adidas, whose uniforms players had been wearing since 2006.

It will be the first time for Nike’s logo to be displayed on official game jerseys, as this was not a practice even with previous suppliers.  This Nike ad campaign is another example of how the company’s popular logo goes out onto the field with the players – as a part of the game.  What an incredible sports advertisement for Nike.

Sponsorship

Nike has many famous athletes as its sponsors, this being their most powerful tactic for selling and promoting unique design and production technology.

The first professional athlete to become Nike’s sponsor was Romanian tennis player Ilie Năstase.

The trend followed with runner Steve Prefontaine, a prized student of Bill Bowerman, an Oregon professor and co-founder of Nike. Nowadays, the corporate headquarters of Nike are named after Prefontaine.

There are many other field/track athletes who worked with Nike during the years, as for instance Carl Lewis, Sebastian Coe, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.  You may also remember the Micheal Jordan commercials, where Nike and the players collaborated to create sneaker ads.

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The fact that NBA’s star Michael Jordan signed the same contract in 1984 was critical for both the company’s and the player’s career and it boosted Nike’s publicity like never before. The joint of Spike Lee had a similar effect.

Ever since 2005, Nike is the official sponsor and kit provider for India’s cricket team.

What is known by almost everybody in the world is that Nike sponsors famous football players, working tightly with names such as Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Neymar, Drogba, Ibrahimovic, Totti, Rooney Donovan, Iniesta, and many others.

It also has a significant presence in golf, due to the fact that it signed a contract with Rory McIlroy, today’s leading golf player.

The contract started in January 2013, supposed to last for 10 years, and worth an incredible $250 million. What was agreed is that the player is going to use Nike’s golf clubs, something Nick Faldo used to describe as a ‘risky step’ in McIlroy’s career.  It has, however, been one of the great Nike campaigns to extend its sporting presence.

Nike: company overview

Nike, Inc. is an American-founded, yet multinational company, developing, manufacturing, and designing sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories for the worldwide market.

Its headquarters are located in Beaverton, Oregon, and the metropolitan area of Portland.

Nowadays, Nike stands as one of the largest and most popular athletic shoe suppliers in the world, being at the same time popular for its apparel and equipment solutions.

It has an estimated revenue of US$24 billion per year (calculated until May 31, 2012), and an employee team of over 44,000 people everywhere in the world.

The value of the brand itself was estimated to be $19 billion (2014), and it has most likely grown after signing the NBA deal.

Nike was established on January 25, 1964, called Blue Ribbon Sports at the time. The founder was Phil Knight, and after Bill Bowerman joined him, the company was renamed Nike, Inc (May 1971). The name Nike is originally the name of the Greek goddess of victory.

Nike has a large range of branded products, such as Nike Pro, Nike +, Air Jordan, Nike Blazers, Foamposite, Nike Golf, Air Force 1, Air Max, Nike Dunk, Nike Skateboarding, etc.

However, it also produces subsidiaries for Converse, Hurley International, and Brand Jordan.

For quite a while, Nike possessed the ownership of Bauer Hockey (1995-2008), which was originally Umbro and Cole Haan’s line. At the time, the line was called Nike Hockey.

Not bad, right? And all this was based on a great deal of Nike shoe advertisement examples.

However, Nike doesn’t manufacture only equipment and sportswear, but it also operates its own retail stores known as Niketown.

Working with many high-profile sportsmen and athletes worldwide, Nike has developed recognizable trademarks, as the Swoosh logo and the ‘Just Do It’ ad which has now become one of the most well-known Nike phrases.

It is hard to imagine that back in time, Nike (BRS) was only a university idea Phil Knight and his coach developed to help sportsmen find adequate equipment, and it grew to be such a giant in the apparel industry.

At the time, Nike was still distributing foreign products, such as the Japanese Onitsuka Tiger line (ASICS nowadays), making an insignificant portion of what it is earning today.

In 1976, they hired John Brown and partners, a Seattle company to be their advertising agency, and they developed the first  Nike advertising campaign known as ‘There is no finish line’.

It was the first time that Nike became internationally famous, and by the end of 1980, it already owned 50% of the US shoe market.  Much of this was due to the success of the Nike shoe ads.

Later on, they started working with Wieden+Kennedy, which took the credit for the most famous TV and print Nike advertisements and became the leading Nike advertising agency.

Dan Wieden, a co-founder of the agency, was the one to invent the Nike ‘Just Do It’ commercial, a simple phrase that boosted Nike’s popularity by the end of 1988, and was chosen to be one of the 5 most popular slogans of the 21st century. Most of the Nike ads that you see today have this slogan. This Nike print advertisement set a milestone for magazine marketing.

The first ‘Just Do It’ commercial was featured by Walt Stack and was first shown on TV on July 1, 1988. An interesting fact is that Wieden got inspired by Gary Gilmore’s last words prior to his execution to create the ‘Just Do It’ slogan.

During the 1980s, Nike enriched its production line with many original items, driven by the idea to encompass all sports, beliefs, and religions around the world. 1990 was the year when the company transferred its headquarters to an 8-buildings campus in Beaverton, Oregon.

Nike focused its attention on TV commercials over the years but the Nike marketing campaign still didn’t leave the print magazine ads out in the cold.

What’s interesting is that they’ve tried a different approach in their product ads in magazines. A Nike ad for print was different than one for TV.

Although the company had many popular magazine ads,  they created advertisements that were trying to sell more or less directly the products made by the company, whereas the TV commercials were trying to work on the brand image.

A game that only one of the top brands could be able to play. Of course, you can imagine that they couldn’t help playing around in their sports ads in magazines. So they did.  Nike publicity has been positive, taking the brand to an all-time high.

Frequently asked questions about Nike print ads

What is the goal of Nike print ads?

Nike’s print advertisements aim to inspire and motivate consumers to pursue their goals and dreams while also promoting the company and its products.

What are some common themes in Nike print ads?

Sports, fitness, and athleticism are frequent themes in Nike print advertisements.

They frequently show amateur athletes as well as regular individuals working out and achieving their objectives.

How does Nike use images in its print ads?

Nike print advertisements frequently employ striking, high-contrast imagery to convey the enthusiasm and energy of sports and physical exercise. Inspiring language and phrases may also be used, as well as pictures of athletes in action.

What typography does Nike use in its print ads?

Nike print advertisements frequently communicate strength and power by using a bold, sans-serif font.

To provide a more unique and human touch, they might also use hand-drawn or styled lettering.

How does Nike use color in its print ads?

Nike print advertisements frequently employ color to communicate vigor and excitement.

Nike advertisements may feature vibrant hues like red, orange, and yellow in addition to more somber tones like black and gray.

How does Nike appeal to its target audience in its print ads?

Nike uses words and visuals that speak to the interests and objectives of its target market to appeal to them.

Nike print advertisements frequently show athletes and active individuals of all ages, genders, and backgrounds in an effort to encourage and motivate viewers to follow their own sporting and fitness ambitions.

How has Nike’s print advertising evolved over time?

Nike has changed its print advertising over time to match shifting attitudes and trends in the sports and fitness culture.

Nike has adopted more diverse and inclusive marketing in recent years, and has also utilized its position to promote social and environmental causes.

What are some examples of successful Nike print ad campaigns?

The “Just Do It” campaign, which has been around since the 1980s, and the “Equality” campaign, which promoted social justice and inclusivity, are two instances of successful Nike print advertising campaigns.

How can one create effective print ads in the style of Nike?

Understanding the target audience’s interests and objectives is crucial for producing Nike-style print advertisements.

While paying attention to typeface and color can assist to produce a unified and effective design, high-quality photos and strong, inspirational text can be used to portray the passion and enthusiasm for sports and fitness.

What is the future of Nike print advertising?

The future of Nike print advertising is expected to entail novel and creative approaches to connecting and motivating consumers as print media continues to develop and adapt.

The key beliefs and messages of the Nike brand, such as the ability of sports and exercise to inspire and drive people, are expected to be at the forefront of its print advertising initiatives.

Examples of great Nike print ads

More Nike ad campaigns lower down in this article.

Keep scrolling to see more magazine ads.

(this last one was not made by Nike but I had to feature it)

Making a good advertisement campaign is hard. If you are looking for highly converting ads, make sure you let it be done by a professional graphic design company.

If you liked this article with Nike ads, you should also check out these print ads articles:

Also, if there’s a Nike magazine ad that you’ve seen and you’d like showcased in this article, let me know on Twitter.