Insights
13/06/2024
Ask anyone in our industry to name their top ten ads and it’s a rare list that doesn’t contain Nike. Ask them to recall any communications from Reebok and you’ll probably be faced with a thoughtful silence. It suggest a lack of consistent messaging.
Nike
Reebok
It’s not like we don’t know Reebok, but we don’t know what it stands for. There’s a lack of consistent messaging. Thus we have very little emotional connection to the brand.
And that’s what good branding does: it makes us feel something way beyond the logical or rational, that seriously impacts on our purchasing decisions. In short, if we like a brand, we’re much more likely to buy from it.
According to Nike, they stand for, “a culture of innovation and team-first mentality, we take action to create a future of continual progress for athletes, sport and our world.” They are apparently driven by a “purpose to leave an enduring impact.”
More bland than brand, right?
But in terms of what Nike stands for in the wider world, it’s:
They used to say, “No one ever gets fired for buying IBM.” Similarly, no one is ever likely to have their choice of Nike questioned.
Meanwhile Reebok say their mission is “to build cultural relevance, craft elevated and unique products and generate sustainable growth.”
Yadda yadda.
By any measure, the brand is an enduring success. However Adidas did sell it for $2.5bn in 2022, having bought it for $3.8bn in 2005. Ouch.
Meanwhile the Nike brand is currently valued at just under $30bn.
You’d probably recognise the Reebok logo, which was restored to its most well-known version in 2019. But you don’t have a handy name for it like the swoosh.
As a company, Reebok stands for many admirable things like inclusivity, support for different sports around the world, and innovative fashion collaborations.
That’s if you do some digging. But there’s no consistent messaging
Dan Wieden, cofounder of the advertising firm Wieden and Kennedy, revealed the phrase was inspired by the final words of death row prisoner Gary Gilmore, “You know, let’s do it.” Wieden didn’t like the ‘let’s’ thing, “so I just changed that, cause otherwise I’d have to give him credit.”
According to Nike, the meaning of Just Do It is both ‘universal and intensely personal’. It must be one of the most famous slogans ever.
To us, it stands for belief in the power of a brand to inspire, and to communicate with both clarity and brevity.
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