The Significance of the “Swoosh”

From the brands sponsored athletes such as Michael Jordan and Cathy Freeman, to their world renown ad campaigns like the Walt Stack: A Runner and the Find your greatness ads that made people think differently about what it means to be greater than great, to the brands collaborations with the legendary director Spike Lee, and their lifelong partnership with the ever-growing sports drink company Gatorade, to even their signature “Swoosh” logo and their timeless trademark slogan “Just do it”, Nike is easily one of the most recognizable brands of today since the early 1970s. Throughout the last 47 years, they have made it so that they would not just be viewed as a company that just “sells shoes”, and through their multitude of advertisements, their numerous products that keep evolving over time with better technology and their brand as whole, they have achieved the status of being a catalyst for sportswear storytelling, made for people of all shapes and sizes, not just athletes, to be apart of their history. This on-going vision is realized through multiple different ways, including their marketing, their merchandising and their heavy influence over certain aspects. This is how the Nike from the beginning became the Nike known and loved today.

To begin, there are various questions pertaining to the success of Nike; who was “Nike”, what was “Nike” and where was “Nike”. The first of those questions; who was “Nike”? Which individual or individuals were co-responsible in forging the greatness that is the thriving legacy of Nike. One answer that would universally be accepted would his “air-ness” Michael Jordan. As stated in Robert Goldman’s and Stephen Papson’s book Nike Culture, Nike focused on a concept of “Hero Worship”[1], saying that they wanted “for individuals to identify with athletic superstars through advertisements” and that “Nike built its brand upon said heroes” which evidently shifts to how the power of their trademark “Swoosh” and its value depended on the people they signed to become their cultural heroes.[2] In Michael Jordan’s case, Nike had taken a risk on him back in 1984, signing him over for 2.5 million over 5 years[3]. As mentioned in Nike culture, the brand “[had so much confidence in him and his talents] that they created his own “Air Jordan” line” and they would, as an incentive to prompt him to sell more, pay him in royalties. To coincide with the release of his “Air” line, Nike also created a “Jordan flight” commercial, comparing the athletes moves to “revving jet engine” and as he moves towards the basket “[he] explodes into the air [as the engines reach the roar of take-off velocity.]”[4]. As a result of this commercial and Michael’s stellar feats demonstrated on the basketball court, Nike could not keep up with the demand, selling over 100 million dollars in product that year, restoring their economic performance that was on the verge of collapse.[5]

Michael Jordan’s journey with Nike continues with a series of different advertisements that according to Goldman “sold authenticity, [which] simultaneously separate[ed] and join[ed] Jordan’s athletic triumphs from [the] product[s] [he was selling]”.[6] One advertisement in particular featuring this method of “authenticity” would be the “it’s gotta be the shoes” with director Spike Lee, that tackled and contrasted efficiently the balance of what the ideal African-American would be; Michael, being the poised, hardworking role-model, and having Mars (character portrayed by Lee) to be the typical ghetto talking hood man trying to figure out how Michael got his fame, his success and the female around his arm, eventually coming up with a conclusion that the Air Jordan sneaker is the main factor for all of Jordan’s blessings.[7] This humorous back and forth type of advertisement created a subliminal ideal to young consumers that to get the girl of your dreams, the success and the fame, you need to be wearing Jordan, but simultaneously you still need to work hard, because its not necessarily the shoes that make the man. Additionally, as Michael Jordan’s basketball career kept soaring to greater heights, his Nike advertisements also have matured with him to properly portray not only how he is as an athlete, but to show that he is still human.[8] As stated earlier, when Nike wanted for consumers to “identify with athletic superstars”[9], they also wanted consumers to identify with being themselves, defined as having “[a] celebrity athlete [who is ] always speak[ing] to what one wants to be, as well as what one is not”,[10] which can paired to the reality that is: these athletic superstars are still regular people at the end of the day.[11] The advertisement example that embodies this concept of being human would be the 1997 NBA playoff championship adverts, that has Michael’s inner voice that reflects on his failures, stating that

[he has] missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, [he has] lost almost 300 games, 26 times [he has] been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed, [he has] failed over and over again in [his] life, and that why [he] succeeds.[12]

With Jordan vocalizing his failures in such a manner, the light that is shown on him further demonstrates that he, just like everyone else in life, fails. However, the difference between regular people and his air-ness is his drive, the ability to “embrace doubt and disrespect to push himself further’ than his teammates and competitors. That is what makes him the embodiment of Nikes slogan “Just do it”. That’s what make Michael Jordan, Nike

Secondly, the next question to be answered would be; what is Nike? What makes them the brand that comes to mind when thinking of sports, sneakers and certain celebrities? The answer lies in plain sight. Nike has two main components to this; their slogan “Just do it” and their logo, the “Swoosh”. The former of those two components is the necessary factor for the “what” of Nike. Created in 1988, this slogan resonates to many as a philosophy, as stated in Freidrich von Borris’s book Who’s afraid of NikeTown, he explains that “Nikes slogan is a call to action, for the freedom to do what you want’.[13] The reason why this simple slogan works so well and has stood the test of time for this long is the fact that not only does it apply to the elite of the Nike athletes who have pushed the boundaries in their respective domains such as Jordan with Basketball and Bo Jackson with Baseball, but also to the lesser known athletes such as Cathy Freeman, the female gold medalist sprinter of the 400 meter race who “[overcame] social barriers through athletic performance”[14] and the people who just want to move, using the slogan as a “rallying cry in [their] minds to get them[selves] off the couch and play sports”[15]. This concept of having the slogan used for the everyday person is shown throughout most of Nike’s advertisements over the years, the two most relevant at the time being the “Walt Stack” advertisement, where he is seen jogging upon the Golden State Bridge, with is voice over stating that he “[jogs] everyday despite his advanced age”[16] and the wheelchair marathon racer who, by the end of his race rips his shirt off showing a tattooed “S” on his chest[17], signifying that even though he is physically at a disadvantage, he can do anything he puts his mind do with the power of the three simple words; Just do it. The slogan, in essence is viewed as catalyst as well because it “provides a language of self empowerment, that no matter who you are, what your economic status is, if you are disabled or not, you are in control’ it ‘challenges [people] to confront and hopefully overcome barriers.[18] and “it speaks to the restraint and inhibition in everyday life that keep people from the experience of transcendence.”[19] Thus, Nike’s slogan “Just do it” impacts the population in such a positive way, enough for people to make it their life’s purpose to change themselves for the better mentally, physically and emotionally without holding back. They just do it.

Finally, with the aspects of the “who” and the “what” of Nike being covered, it is time to focus on the “Where” aspect. Where was Nike displayed? The simple answer? Everywhere. As previously stated that within the “what” aspect of Nike, the two main components used for this concept were the brands slogan “Just do it” and their trademark logo, the “swoosh”. Since the target of the last point was on that of the former, that being the slogan, the focal point from here will be on the latter, that being the “swoosh”, and its value to Nike, how it became one of the most recognizable symbols in popular culture, and how throughout multiple ad campaigns, Nike products and several locations and placements demonstrates its significance to the brand and its legacy where it made an enormous impact on streetwear storytelling, shaping it to what it will be later on.

To start, each advertisement featuring the “swoosh” sold a different story to consumers, and they are not always linked to a product, but they are, like all advertisements, trying to either sell the consumer something or make the viewer aware of a change. For instance, in the journal article written by Jean M, Grow and her partner Joyce M. Wolburg on the award-winning advertisement “if you let me play” created by Janet Champ, Nike’s chief copywriter, explains that the ads goal was to empower women in sports in the male dominated genre of physical activity, because during that time there was no true link to women and sportswear, and it was deemed “nearly impossible [for] an advertisement to extend itself from a highly successful men’s brand to [appeal] to women”[20] The authors’ go into further detail explaining that this advertisement reveals the truth as to how women in sports are portrayed, as a lesser to their male counterparts, with differences in the pay gap, as well as how they are addressed, stating that they

call women athletes by their first names but men by their last names and refer to women athletes as “girls” and “young ladies” but male athletes as “men,” “young men,” or “fellas” rather than “boys”.[21]

This kind of dynamic would then push for the need to branch out to the women demographic, having the “swoosh” be a symbol of empowerment, so that women would come to know that their value is greater than they think, which as a result started a movement for women to finally be properly portrayed in athletics and athletic wear later on in the years to come.

By the same token, Nike’s “swoosh” has various other meanings other than a just being a big check on a billboard or on a shoe. The “swoosh” “stands for athletic excellence, a spirit of determination, hip authenticity and playful self awareness.”[22] Due to the multitude of advertisements where the logo was the main focal point, “the “Nike” name no longer needed to be shown [on anything]”[23] because consumers know this brand like they know the cover of Coca-Cola. As a result of the swoosh having “an omnipresence, being embedded visually everywhere, may it be clothing, social spaces or the media”[24] Nike had what they called “overswooshification” where because the logo was everywhere, it had actually decreased a little bit in value in the first world countries[25]. The way Nike combatted this phenomenon was to “attach the “swoosh” to one of its star, sponsored athletes to regain and add more value to it, the first athlete being Michael Jordan.”[26] Furthermore, a study conducted in London by Louis Archer and his partners Sumi Hollingworth and Anna Halsal in their journal article University is not for me, I’m a Nike person shows that the value of the swoosh was also tied to a class like structure, a hierarchy of sorts, whereas if you could afford the look, you had money. In the same manner, the point is proven by when the interviewer asked “[what] would happen if you wore cheap trainers”? to where the kids from the study replied “They would laugh at you […] call you a tramp].”[27] This “status” like mindset transcends the first world countries to more impoverished ones such as Jamaica or Haiti, to where “[when] you wear anything Nike, it [was] a symbol of status.[28]

Another key point in the significance of the swoosh would be the message it carries, stated in Nike Culture that

“Thanks to the time and money invested in the “swoosh”, Nike’s advertisements give a voice to important cultural contradictions that define our era, which it does by using the method of storytelling […]” that results in the brands advertisements to become “more popular because of the way it speaks to and embodies the middle-class morality”. [29]

Furthermore, different values can be attributed to the swoosh; from the way it compliments Nikes products by being branded all over, to being visible enough to be recognized from afar, to the meaningful messages it can carry, the way Nike manipulated their logo to appeal to the majority shows how well they want everyone to grow up the Nike way. One of the ways they got the swoosh all over everyone, including those of lower income households, was by essentially “hacking” the subculture of their target audience.[30] Due to the fact that during the 80s, the hip-hop underground scene turned away from big known brands such as Nike and Puma, and the focused more on Adidas, and made them “cool” (such as Run DMC), Nike “purposely did not prosecute anyone making counterfeits or stealing the merchandise”[31], because this was free advertising, getting the swoosh virtually everywhere, including into those that could not get it in the first place. This shows that throughout these means, Nike had the intentions to have a full Nike world, just doing it to beat the competition by any means necessary.

In conclusion, Nike today has gone through a expansive growth since its early stages in the early 80s. with more athletic superstars such as Lebron, Kobe and Serena Williams, as well as now expanding their reach to artists of many forms such as Kevin Hart and Kanye West being sponsored and being included in the Nike family, becoming role models in their own respective right. Even after Jordan’s retirement, his brand is still thriving after 32 years of being tied to the swoosh, even expanding his line to release the first ever Jordan women’s collection in early 2018. With their determination to grow and expand their reach ever wider, with the help of social media and new age technology that they’ve integrated in their business practices as well as their ads, they are now able connect with this hyperactive generation, being that from an app to reserve the latest sneakers to using a QR code attached to a basketball jersey to show game stats of that particular player as well as other features. Also, Nike has also started to collaborate with high-end fashion designers such as Virgil Abloh, Acronym and Hiroshi Fujiwara to appeal in a fusion of tech wear. With all of this going for Nike, there is nothing that can stop their roll. They just do it.