Nike Rhetoric

All companies competing in today’s global economy from huge corporations to small businesses use tactical forms of advertisement that are designed to target a particular group of consumers. In order to have a successful business, companies must convince these targeted consumers that their product is the best product on the market through various types of media such as television commercials and magazines. Having a clear message, appealing to the audience, and establishing credibility for the company is a big part of effective advertising and the more effective the advertisement is, the more likely it is for consumers to be aware of the product and purchase the item.
The Nike brand is a well-established and well-respected sporting company that continually reaches a wide range of audience members through advertising. Nike makes an extremely wide variety of products ranging from football to golf and everything in between. Catchy slogans like “Just Do It” and even the universally recognizable swoosh logo enhance marketability of their products. Since not all of their products are designed for a specific consumer base, Nike advertisements must clearly display the targeted audience and use visual rhetoric to convince the consumer that their product is the best. A Nike soccer commercial that was released a couple of years ago during the 2006 World Cup (Take It To The Next Level, directed by Guy Ritchie) uses very effective advertising tactics and visual rhetoric to make the message of the commercial more effective. The purpose of the video is to provide exposure for Nike soccer products and show that Nike products are superior to all others. This video was released during the 2006 World Cup to provide a context for the video because the entire world tunes in to watch the World Cup Games so there was a very large fan base. The video has over 1 million watches on YouTube, which shows its popularity among the targeted audience.
The whistle blows. You have been fouled. All you can hear is yourself breathing with the steady pounding of your heartbeat. You look up to see the referee issue a yellow card to the opponent and you know this is your time to shine. Your teammate helps you to your feet and gives you the soccer ball. You place it and take a perfect strike, right over the wall. Gooooooaaall! Everyone in the crowd starts cheering and upbeat music begins to play. This particular Nike soccer commercial, titled “Take It To The Next Level,” takes place in a first-person perspective of a soccer player the entire time and makes the viewer feel like they are the main character of the commercial. This perspective is a very clever way to pull in the targeted audience – being soccer players of any level, more specifically adolescent males that are serious about advancing in the game of soccer – because people who enjoy soccer are more than likely to pay attention to a commercial that shows the viewer as a soccer star. Women who are serious about advancing in the game are somewhat excluded in this advertisement because all of the teams shown are strictly men’s teams and the only time women appear is to reinforce the sex appeal aspect that helps to sell the product.
In the beginning, visual aids such as regular uniforms and a small stadium in the background gives the impression that you are playing on a lower-level team, but as the commercial progresses you move your way up to become a world-class super star. Starting the commercial with a lower-level team is a very logical approach to draw the attention of viewers because there are no world-class soccer players that go straight from the recreational league to playing professional soccer. This way a wide range of people can identify with the main character and the subject of the advertisement. Also, Nike has to convince the audience that their product is the main reason for excelling so showing all of the hard work it takes to make it to “the next level” is critical for the overall impression of the advertisement. It would not have been as effective if the commercial began at a higher level.
Credibility, which ties in with the rhetorical appeal ethos, is established within the first 30 seconds (0:19) by showing a glimpse of Arsen Wenger – the manager of Arsenal, a very distinguished and successful club soccer team from England – after you make the first free kick. This one glimpse of Arsen Wegner only lasts for two seconds until he looks away, as if to give the impression he did not want to be seen recruiting, is enough to establish credibility because he is a very well recognized face in the world of soccer. You can infer that you will be signed to Arsenal in the near future because you just made a free kick to win the game and Arsen Wegner was watching. And sure enough, the next scene shows you walking into an Arsenal players’ locker room to receive your jersey. Most people interested in this commercial are also interested in playing for a very prestigious team, such as Arsenal, so it appeals to the values of the audience. Credibility continues to be established throughout the advertisement by including well known players from around the world – William Gallas (0:30), Wayne Rooney (0:34), Carlos Tevez (0:38), Christano Ronaldo (0:46, 2:45), Cesc Fabregas (1:15), Ronaldinho (2:18), among many others – that are already signed to the Nike label.
Sex appeal is a very effective form of advertisement that is used heavily right after you score your first goal for Arsenal, in the time frame 1:15-1:33, to show the implied message that Nike products will bring you success and, according to the advertisement, hot women. In this time frame it shows you getting out of a limousine with a stunning woman and on to the red carpet with cameras flashing. While walking down the red carpet, you are asked to give an autograph for another beautiful woman standing on the side and you sign her chest, not the normal place for an autograph. Next is swimming in a pool with a super sexy blonde girl. By using sex appeal, Nike is appealing to the values of the targeted audience and conveying the message that if they buy Nike products, hot women will soon cling to you like a magnet. The message of sex appeal, along with various forms visual rhetoric, have been used by Nike to consistently appeal to a large fan base and sell their products.

Advertisement