Best slogan ever.
According to Nike company lore, one of the most famous and easily
recognized slogans in advertising history was coined at a 1988 meeting
of Nike’s ad agency Wieden and Kennedy and a group of Nike
employees. Dan Weiden, speaking admiringly of Nike’s can-do attitude,
reportedly said, “You Nike guys, you just do it.” The rest, as they say, is
(advertising) history.
After stumbling badly against archrival Reebok in the 1980s,
Nike rose about as high and fast in the ‘90s as any company
can. It took on a new religion of brand consciousness and
broke advertising sound barriers with its indelible Swoosh,
“Just Do It” slogan and deified sports figures. Nike managed
the deftest of marketing tricks: to be both anti-establishment
and mass market, to the tune of $9.2 billion dollars in sales
in 1997.
—Jolie Soloman
“When Nike Goes Cold”
Newsweek, March 30, 1998
