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Nike's Best Ever Ads

Sportswear brand Nike has become arguably the biggest brand in the world.It attracts billions of dollars of revenue every year and its stable of athletes and other personalities includes some of the biggest names in the world.It is with these big names as ambassadors for the Nike brand that they have been able to produce some of the most memorable advertising campaigns of all time.See which Australian stars are available as brand ambassadors

Michael Jordan / Spike Lee (Mars Blackmon)

This ad features arguably the greatest basketballer of all time Michael Jordan and legendary filmmaker Spike Lee (playing Mars Blackmon, the role he played in his debut film She’s Gotta Have It) who at the time was relatively unknown. Previously Nike had only shown Jordan’s basketball expertise and athleticism in their ads but was keen to show the other side of Jordan, his more personable side. The ad was Nike’s first attempt at featuring humour in one of its campaigns and it was highly successful.

Nike Basketball - Freestyle

In 2001 during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, Nike released this memorable ad featuring some of the biggest names in the NBA in an interesting premise. It featured All-Star Vince Carter (fresh off his legendary 2000 dunk contest performance), Lamar Odom, Darius Miles, Jason White Chocolate Williams, Baron Davis, and Rasheed Wallace all showcasing streetball moves to create a hip-hop beat. The ad also showed off some of the hottest Nike footwear at the time including the Nike Shox BB4, Nike Air Flightposite, Nike Air Zoom GP III, Nike Air Force 1 High, and the Nike Air Hyperflight to just name a few.

Michael Jordan - Failure

This famous ad details how Michael Jordan who is often viewed as a god-like figure by basketball and sporting fans alike, has experienced cases of failure over his illustrious career. It also shows how Jordan’s mindset towards dealing with this failure has led to him succeeding.

Tiger Woods Golf

Golfing legend Tiger Woods has a long list of impressive ads, but this one with Nike would have to rank as his best. It shows Woods juggling a golf ball with a wedge before sending it down the range with a full swing. Interestingly, the footage was included as bonus footage by the camera crew on the day, who were initially filming a different ad with Tiger. However, once Nike saw the footage, they canned the other ad and produced this one which has become one of its most memorable ads ever.

Nike Football - Write the Future

To celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Nike released this ad featuring some of its top football talents, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Franck Ribery, Fabio Cannavaro, and Ronaldhino (as well as cameos from Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant and Homer Simpson). It shows the effect that football has over the world and also showcases some of Nike’s newest and hottest products (at the time). The ad even won the Film Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Marketing Awards in 2011.

Matt Scott - No Excuses

This ad features wheelchair basketball star Matt Scott giving a long list of excuses people usually come up with for not working out, ending with Scott slamming two basketballs down saying “my feet hurt”. This ad pushes to inspire people to get out and exercise, no matter what their excuse could be.

LeBron James - You Can't Stop Us

This ad was released amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic that has swept the world, with Nike joining many other businesses urging people to stay home and stop the spread of the virus. It shows some of the most iconic moments in sporting history, when an athlete or team was once down, and fought back to heroically claim victory. The ad shows people how rewarding persevering can be through tough times.

Bella Hadid - Cortez

Nikes Best Ever Ads

However, it is not just athletes that Nike use as brand ambassadors in their ads. Supermodel Bella Hadid was a part of the relaunch of Nike’s classic Cortez line, showing off the once athletic shoe to a different target market.

Kendrick Lamar - Cortez

Kendrick Lamar Cortez

Superstar of rap music Kendrick Lamar switched over to Nike after being affiliated with one of its competitors, Reebok. Lamar signalled the switch with this posting on twitter, also becoming an ambassador for the relaunched Nike Cortez and showcasing the product to yet another section of the market.

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