By: Jennifer Lau
Illustration by: Sylvain Chan
Advertisements are designed to draw your attention, to encourage you to purchase their product and drive sales—not necessarily to address systemic social issues. But Nike takes a different route. The ‘Just Do It’ brand has long intertwined marketing with activism, leveraging some of the biggest names in sports and its popularity as a sports brand to simultaneously highlight racial inequality and increase its own brand recognition. Through campaigns like ‘Nike Equality,’ ‘Lebron Beginnings,’ and ‘For Once, Don’t Do It,’ Nike positions itself as more than just a sportswear company; instead, it acts as a campaigner for change, urging individuals to take action against systemic racism. Nike spotlights the importance of every individual in overcoming racial prejudices with the purpose to encourage individuals to act against systemic racism.
Using Sports as a Microcosm for Equality
Nike highlights how the principle of fairness in sports can be a starting point for broader societal change. In ‘Equality,’ the narration states “here, you are defined by your actions”, accompanied with aerial shots of basketball courts and football fields. Within sports, athletes are judged by their abilities, such as the NBA’s diversity and its positive impact of seeing athletes for their abilities and not their race. Thus, Nike encourages wider society to do the same. The impact of the ad is intensified through the black and white tones of the ad, applying heavy graphic weight to direct attention to the message. By extending the white lines of a sports court across judiciary courts and school buildings in later shots, Nike also extends the boundaries of the rules from within sports, showing that individuals in wider society should also follow the culture of valuing abilities instead of race. The ad closes with a powerful line delivered by cultural icons Michael B. Jordan and Lebron James, “If we can be equals here, we can be equal everywhere,” reinforcing the idea that change is possible beyond the game. Thus, Nike uses this overcoming of racism in sports as a microcosm of the idea that broader racial prejudice can also be overcome in wider society.
Challenging Inaction and Urging Accountability
In ‘For Once, Don’t Do It,’ the ‘Just Do It’ company takes a bold stance by flipping its slogan to challenge the passive acceptance of racial injustice. Nike repeats the word “Don’t,” accusing the viewer of “turn[ing] your back “along with many other accusations.” These sentences, along with the interplay between the simple white text against a black background, intensify the emotions of anger and guilt with accepting the offences against equality and motivates viewers to make greater contributions in overcoming racial prejudice. The audio design of the ad is intense; a unified repetition of notes propels the viewer to feel unity with the message to take action. ‘Equality’ also encourages accountability from the viewer. Throughout the advert, the camera maintains eye-level shots and eye contact with people of different genders, races, and religions, making them the focal point by placing their faces in the centre of the frame. This gives a sense of equality and unity to every individual regardless of race or gender, all condoning the message to overcome racial prejudice. Primarily, as these eye-level shots are between nameless individuals and celebrities—like Serena Williams, who has endured racism throughout her career—Nike creates unity between ordinary people and celebrities with large social presences to encourage the idea that every voice is important.
LeBron James and the Power of Representation
Nike shows that by overcoming prejudice, we can inspire others to do the same. In ‘Lebron Beginnings,’ Nike highlights James’ undistinguished background through the opening shot of a pair of shoes on a telephone wire, a sign of gang turf and crime, emphasising that James came from an impoverished background. This is consolidated through the first three frames with low-angle shots conveying the vulnerability and smallness of James compared to the environment around him. However, this directly contrasts with James’ success later, highlighted through the high-angle shot portraying Nike’s poster of James’ career; the contrasting angles of the shots emphasises his successes after combatting prejudices. This success is evident in inspiring black children coming from similar backgrounds, especially seen through the over-the-shoulder shot of James hunched down on television with black children watching him, hunched down in a similar fashion sitting on crates and bare chairs, creating a parallel between their body postures and highlighting their desires to be like him. This parallel between his successful career on television and the children in the poor neighbourhood emphasises the impact James’ successes have in encouraging other children from a similar background, to also aspire to overcome prejudices. Serena Williams’ story is also used in the same way. The ad emphasises that by overcoming prejudices, we can inspire and encourage others to do so as well.
Questioning the American Dream
As an American brand, Nike leverages the cultural concept of the ‘American dream’ and the American constitution to highlight the importance of combatting racial prejudice. The constitution is built on the idea of meritocracy: every man is created equal with liberty and protection for all. ‘Lebron Beginnings’ romanticises the American dream, portraying James as an example of the “determination that captures the American dream”. However, ‘For Once, Don’t Do It’ sharply contrasts this idea with “Don’t pretend there’s not a problem in America,” highlighting the prevalence of racial prejudice despite the Constitution. It urges viewers to acknowledge their accountability and responsibility in ignoring racial prejudice within America, forcing them to accept the reality despite the notion of the ‘American dream’. Similarly, the first phrase of ‘Equality,’ “is this the land that history promised?” directly questions the American constitution, creating a jarring accusation to urge the viewers to recognize the systemic issues persisting within the US. By starting both adverts questioning the American constitution, Nike stresses the issues with the constitution and the American dream, and the need to enforce change due to the falseness of pride placed within the American idea of equality in opportunity. Further, the diegetic music of ‘Equality,’ ‘A Change is Gonna Come,’ directly reminds people of their dedication to change. As this song captures the aspirations and determinations of African Americans during the civil rights movement, it inspires individuals to fight against racial prejudice. Thus, Nike uses the ‘American Dream’ and the Constitution to encourage the importance of overcoming racial prejudices.
Nike’s ads do more than just sell sneakers—they push conversations about racial inequality into the mainstream and challenge what ads can usually achieve. Nike invites its audience to reflect and act through its antithesis of the American Dream and the realities of racism. Through celebrity endorsement and collaborations, the brand reinforces the importance of collective fights for racial justice. Nike continues to cement its legacy as not just a sportswear brand, but a champion for change.
