We Can All Be Nike
Everyone knows the swoosh. Nike is the most successful brand to date. It is more than a household name, it becomes a part of your identity. Yet, what is the image most commonly associated with Nike product? I argue; famous athletes. The majority of nike campaigns focus on the fame, prestige, and reputation of world-renowned professional athletes. These campaigns are notorious and have given Nike unprecedented success, but I have always felt a disconnect to that strategy. If Nike is marketing their products to millions of people worldwide, chances are, we are not all famous athletes. For my project I strove to challenge the norm of what Nike marketing represents. My aim was to attack the detached and untouchable aura surrounding this brand and ground it on the bodies of unprofessionals. While staying true to the sleek, urban, and sophisticated look commonly found in their advertising campaigns, I chose to present Nike products on the bodies of everyday people. This personal investigation gave me confidence in my ability to execute a professional looking assignment with no production budget. The result… a project demonstrating the depth of potential Nike campaigns and my own potential. Not only does this series show product being used by everyday people, but the execution of the campaign was done by a less than professional photographer, maintaining the roots of this investigation. This was a challenging yet enriching endeavour. My images unveil Nike for every single person regardless of athletic success.
We can all be Nike.