Classes started today for the spring semester. More than 50% done. Boy, am I glad!
The first class was Brand Management.
The professor showed a video of a Nike ad that came out in November 1999. The ad can be viewed on Youtube. Back in those days, there were many predictions of bad things happening on January 1st, 2000. I was personally involved in developing and selling a couple of Y2K products. Anyone remember Y2K Pro?
The ad is a spoof on these predictions. As a newsgroup poster so aptly summarizes it: “A young man wakes up on New Year’s Day and goes out for a morning run. Singular of purpose, the runner is oblivious to the city around him as malfunctions and mayhem proliferate” .
As a wannabe-runner, I totally understand and appreciate the ad. In fact, I am bowled over by how effectively it reveals the mindset of a runner. That is exactly how I feel when I am out there running.
However, I think that the effectiveness of the ad is diluted if used on a more general audience: folks who don’t run and who don’t know anyone who runs. Do they understand that “singularity of purpose”? Would they think that running past an ATM spewing out $$$ is just dumb? Would they miss the message?
Perhaps there are two messages there: one for runners and the other one for non-runners.
Non-runners will go away remembering the ad (and therefore Nike), because of the humorous situation. Which is, I guess, one goal of advertising: brand awareness.
Runners will simply put on their Nike shoes and just go do it…