August Post

The topic I want to focus on is curators exhibitionism which focuses almost exclusively on the differences of others. Nike’s Just Do It marketing campaigns have a history of using highly motivating and different from the traditional athletes. In a recent campaign Nike used Colin Kapernick, Lebron James and Serena Williams to inspire others to not give up on their dreams, to become more than just a basketball star, a fast runner, or a tennis player. The advertisement highlights the differences that these athletes have such as Serena Williams being a girl raised in Compton and how that negative stereotype that nothing great comes from Compton didn’t hold her back from being one of the greatest tennis players of our time. It shows how Lebron James is more than just a basketball player but he is a giver to his community and trying to make it a better place than when he started there. Over the years Nike has had many advertisements like this for their Just Do It Campaign. In 1990 there was the Charles Barkley ad that emphasized that he was not a role model. While he could dunk a basketball he wasn’t the most responsible athlete and part of the campaign was “I am not a role model, I cannot raise your kids”, this showed that Nike was able to take all kinds of athletes under their umbrella and show that not everyone is perfect even if that’s what we want them to be. In 1995 The “If you let me play” Just Do It ad focused on females playing sports and the health benefits of doing so. Focusing on their female consumers they used a real life topic about how women are treated differently than men. Nike uses these differences in athletes that can be taken in a bad way and made them good to motivate others who may feel like they aren’t good enough of or feel like they won’t be able to achieve their own crazy dreams.