Nike's Just Do It Just Blew It

Nike just blew it. At least in my judgment. Inspired by Dove’s enviably successful and artfully executed real beauty campaign, Nike has taken the plunge into reality advertising. Instead of an airy swan dive, it chose an inelegant butt-first splash.

Nike terms its new alleged reality campaign the  "'Big Butts, Thunder Thighs and Tomboy Knees" campaign.

This really awful execution of a terrific idea seems more like the product of one of those edgy New York boutique shops than the work of Nike’s long-time agency, Wieden & Kennedy. Reality is not about crudity, despite the extent to which crudity has been exploited in TV reality shows which are anything but reality. Reality shows are  distortions of reality. And Nike's new "reality advertising" is a distortion of good taste.

Somehow I think an in-your-face ad that invites those who don't like the lady's butt to kiss it is not very much in synch with today's mainstream values.

I’d love to hear from my readers. Read today’s Advertising Age article on Nike’s new reality advertising venture. Click on the picture in this post to blow the depicted ad up in size.

Comments

[Matt Thornhill]

David:

I also comment on the new Nike effort in my monthly newsletter: Jumpin' Jack Flash.

My take is that Nike should at least get a pat on the back for realizing the Boomers that built the brand over the last 25 years are now at 50 and beyond. And the "reality" is that no matter how much or often you "just do it," the results will never be the same as when you were 30.

Of course, you're right in that the ads themselves don't speak to the New Conusmer Majority mindset. But what do you expect when the writer and art director are probably 26 years old and think someone over 50 is over the hill?

[John Michael Day]

Well said Matt. This is a reflection of the knee jerk mentality that has been allowed to thrive in some of America's biggest agencies. What's the next big thing?

[jens]

nike-women has had a different positioning from what we know and perceive of nike for years now.

very much low-profile aesthetics, completely different definition of sports or exercise. i never realy bothered - assume they know what they are doing. nike is still the brand of choice for most women i know - something must be right about it - if only the swoosh, the shape and the material...

the camaign in question... in my eyes it does not realy fit to compare it to the dove reality advertising... or if you want to it can read like this: both - nike and dove campaign - have kind of an innocent approach... dove with the angels (better doves) of all shapes and colors - nike with a questionable - un-cool cool - graphic design execution.
nike too makes a point for the off-mainstream female ideal. in this case an off-mainstream body shape "by choice" (through excessive training) - which clearly can be a weird catch to gymn-addicts.
personally - as a man - i find it high time to address this subject..:)

so what does this nike ad say to me: "kiss my behind, you chauvinist. i like my gymn-shaped shoulders."

well, that is a statement.

it is not the - oops sorry - result of a shortsighted accident by focussing too much on the physical dialogue with these monstorous muscle building machines.

still, girls, yoga i'd say.

"... a distortion of good taste" you say.
in communication distrotion is always good, i say.

and after all, this is only a campain. and yet we are debating about it.

[Michael Martine]

I wouldn't call it a distortion of good taste. That big ol' butt sure gets one's attention. But the copy is so bad that it reads like a parody of bad copy. I mean, it's embarrassing.

Nike's going for a grittier, athletic acceptance of reality that seems more real to me than Dove's campaign. My take on Dove two-edged: on one hand, it's about frickin' time somebody besides The Body Shop did something like this; on the other hand, the Dove campaign practically screams "look how we're targeting you! don't you just LOVE feeling targeted by advertising? see how we're pushing all your buttons?"

What a turn-off. And just so it's not a man saying all this, let me add that my wife (who just so happens to be a woman) hates the Dove campaign, too.

[Michele Miller]

You can never appeal to 100% of the people 100% of the time, something I think Dove gets. They seem to understand that there are more women out there than not who will resonate with their campaign and understand the issue of women's poor body self image. It may not have been the most elegant of campaigns, but it worked for most, evidenced by the tremendous amount of PR Dove received - priceless!

If Nike is aiming this campaign at current brand loyalists, they may have hit a note. But I'd venture a guess they're also trying to win over new customers - as with any new "fad" campaign (even if it's a copycat), there will be a slight up tick in sales. Then, the executives will be walking around scratching their heads trying to figure out why sales aren't continuing to rise. They've simply done what Ford and just about every other auto manufacturer did in copying GM's "Employee Discount" program - looking to a short term rise in sales rather than long-term branding strategy.

[Holly Buchanan]

I couldn't agree more with the comment that the copywriting is way off the mark.

In the butt ad - they compare a woman's butt to a border collie and a space heater - I, for one, have never thought of my butt as either, nor do I hope to EVER think of it as either.

It's too bad, because there's a real opportunity to write some kick-butt copy here (no pun intended)

Holly Buchanan

[David]

Dove's campaign has been resoundingly successful. Nike's will not be. Yeh, some will like it, but I agree with the view that it will not bring in a new slice of consumers. Like the beer and soda pop industries, Nike is counting on stagnant (in terms of population growth) population to reinvigorate growth. Don't they pay attention to demographics?

Hats off to Dove, because its marketers have recongnized that a maturing population(which now is the adult majority)changes the leading values of society. Thast's where the reality pitch comes in. at higher states of maturation, people's attention to idealizations fades as their appreciation of reality grows stronger. This is not empty theory. It is supported by adult development research. Oh -- I should add "authenticity" -- which the Dove campaign is and the Nike campaign is not.

And look at the first results of the Dove campaign (which by the way has generated so much media attention that its reach has been extended by an order of magnitude.)

In Europe, where the Dove campaign first broke, results surpassed all expectations. Dove Firming Lotion sales, for example, exceeded forecasts by 110 percent in Western Europe in 2004. In the UK, Dove Firming Lotion sales rose from 280,000 bottles in 2003 to 2.3 million bottles in the first six months of 2004.

[Shauna W.]

I actually think Nike's new ad campaign is brilliant. I can see why you wouldn't appreciate it, being a middle-aged man, but for young women my age it's important to make light of physical "discrepencies" from the mainstream we see today of size 2's and way-too-tanned Hilton sisters. I have a larger-than-average backside, and upon seeing the "big butt" ad in a magazine I was flipping through, I laughed out loud thinking "wow, that's so true!" It made me proud of something that has always made me a little self conscious. I posted the ad on my website and showed all my friends, including my boyfriend who loved it, commenting "see? I always try to tell you [your butt] is awesome! screw scawny butts!"

Also, my sister, who absoltely hates her thighs, laughed with me as we read the ads together. She is 17, and extremely self conscious, so if they can reach her, I think it's safe to say they can make anyone smile. The ad is geared toward younger women; as I can see above, older women don't seem to appreciate the humor. They were possibly before the "baby got back" generation? Anyways, thanks for listening. And kudos to Nike for a fabulous job.

[David]

Shauna,

I can certainly see your point of view and respect it. However, the campaign is controversial as a general reflection of generational differences. Middle age and older people tend to dislike the ad more than younger people do. That brings to mind the idea that ultimately "All reality is subjective." Accordingly, can you understand the basis of a differnt point of view than your own?

Thanks for your thoughtful comments.

DBW

[Rich]

I just wonder how much women want to be reminded about the size of their asses.

[Nicole]

i think you all are getting a little off topic. In case you forgot, Nike is an ATHLETIC company. It's products are meant to be for ATHLETES. They sponsor athletes all over the country, and obviously none of you are real athletes. These are pictures of women who are athletes, and have worked hard to get the bodies they need for their sport... which includes strong shoulders, a strong butt and strong legs. So I applaud this campaign, for stepping up and recognizing the insecurities that athletes deal with everyday because they are growing bigger and stronger, and are in better shape than all the supermodels combined.. yet still not fitting into a size 0. As for the rest of the woman population, these advertisments serve as inspiration to get off their butts and go out and work hard to be proud of their bodies and stay in shape!