Meet the experts
Nike, originally known as “Blue Ribbon Sports”, was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger (now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight’s automobile
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The company's profits grew quickly, and, in 1967, BRS opened its first retail store, located on Pico Boulevard in vvvSanta Monica, California. By 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the newly designed Swoosh by Carolyn Davidson. The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971, and was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974.
“ In 1971, the first shoe was released ” In 1971, the first shoe sold to the public was a soccer shoe name “Nike”
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“In 1972, BRS introduced its first line of Nike shoes ”
with the name Nike derived from the Greek goddess of victory. In 1978, BRS, Inc. officially renamed itself to Nike, Inc.. Beginning with Ilie Nastase, the first professional athlete to sign with BRS/Nike, the sponsorship of athletes became a key marketing tool for the rapidly growing company. The company’s first self-designed product was based on Bowerman’s “waffle” design. After the University of Oregon resurfaced the track at Hayward Field, Bowerman began experimenting with different potential outsoles that
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“ By 1980, Nike had reached a
50%
market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market � and the company went public in December of that year.
Its growth was due largely to 'word-of-foot' advertising (to quote a Nike print ad from the late 1970s), rather than television ads. Nike's first national television commercials ran in October 1982 during the broadcast of the New York Marathon. The ads were created by Portland-based advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, which had formed several months earlier in April 1982. Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many print and television advertisements and the agency continues to be Nike’s primary today.
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“ It was agency Dan Wieden who coined the famous slogan “Just Do It” for a 1988 Nike ad campaign ” which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century, and the campaign has been enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution.
San Franciscan Walt Stack was featured in Nike's first "Just Do It" advertisement that debuted on July 1, 1988.[9] Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to "Let’s do it", the last words spoken by Gary Gilmore before he was executed. Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to include many other sports and regions throughout the world.
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“I HAVE A MARKET” 9
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THE
NIKE
“swoosh� is a design created in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson.
a graphic design student at Portland State University. She met Phil Knight while he was teaching accounting classes and she started doing some freelance work for his company, Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS). While most people would regard the symbol as a check mark, the Nike swoosh was inspired by the Greek goddess Nike, the winged goddess of victory.
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The swoosh symbolises her flight
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In the spring of 1971, Davidson presented a number of design options to Knight and other BRS executives, and they ultimately selected the mark now known globally as the Swoosh.
"I don't love it," 14
Knight told her,
"but I think it will grow on me."
Davidson submitted a bill for US$35 for her work. (In 1983, Knight gave Davidson a diamond Swoosh ring and an envelope filled with Nike stock to express his gratitude.) In June 1972, the first running shoes bearing the Swoosh were introduced at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Nike continues to use the brand
For seven years after its founding in 1964, BRS imported Onitsuka Tiger brand running shoes. In 1971, BRS decided to launch its own brand, which would first appear on a soccer cleat called the Nike, manufactured in Mexico. Knight approached Davidson for design ideas for this new brand, and she agreed to provide them, charging a rate of US$2 per hour.
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The
Items Nike produces a wide range of sports equipment. Their first products were track running shoes. They currently also make shoes, jerseys, shorts, baselayers, etc. for a wide range of sports including track and field, baseball, ice hockey, tennis, association football (soccer), lacrosse, basketball, and cricket.
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1
Nike Air Max a line of shoes first released by Nike, Inc. in 1987.
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Nike 6.0 Nike NYX Nike SB shoes The most recent additions which are designed for skateboarding.
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Air Zoom Yorker a cricket shoes designed to be 30% lighter than their competitors'.
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Air Jordan XX3 a high-performance basketball shoe designed with the environment in mind.
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Nike sells an assortment of products, including shoes and apparel for sports activities like association
Basketball
Golf
Cross training Combat sports Running Tennis Athletics Football 20
and other athletic and recreational uses.
Wrestling
Aquatic Activities Cheerleading
Association Football Skateboarding Volleyball Cycling Auto Racing Tennis Golf 21