Nike Launches 'Just Do It' Slogan: On This Day

Branding & Marketing - Nike's "Just Do It" campaign, launched in September 1988, became one of the greatest branding campaigns in history [1] - The slogan was initially understated but proved to be monumentally impactful for Nike [2] - Advertising Age ranked "Just Do It" as the number two ad slogan of the 20th century [5] - Nike executives were surprised by the slogan's resonance and universality [5] - Nike tried to replace "Just Do It" each year but always returned to it [6] - Nike launched a new campaign this month that updates the phrase to "Why Do It" [6] Market Position & Competition - In 1988, Nike's sales were slumping, and the company was overtaken in market share by Reebok [2] - Reebok was benefiting from the aerobics boom [2] Advertising Strategy - Ad executive Dan Widen had been working with Nike for six years, primarily on print ads [3] - Widen tried to encourage Nike to create performance-driven TV spots featuring professional athletes [3] - Previous campaigns were individualistic and lacked a unifying message around the Nike brand [3] - Widen sketched out several slogans to tie all the ad campaigns together [3]