Throughout my life, Nike ads have always been the most noticeable to me on TV. They have the best marketing team in the business in my opinion. We all know about the slogan "Just Do It". That has been part of Nike for years. Just about everyone in the United States associates it with Nike. But a few years ago, Nike created a short ad campaign with the slogan "Leave Nothing".
This new ad campaign includes two commercials, each featuring two of the hardest working players in the NFL. The first commercial pictures The life's journey of Troy Polamalu and LaDainian Tomlinson. From childhood to "the big show" they do everything possible to become the best. They train every day, whether in the rain or in the snow. They do this because they know it is the only way they can accomplish their goals. Throughout the ad, "Ecstasy of Gold" from The Good The Bad And The Ugly is played in the background. These players find this "ecstasy of gold" through hard work on and off the field, and because they "Leave Nothing".
The second ad, (which is my favorite of the two) shows Shawn Merriman and Steven Jackson going 110% in a connected sequence of plays filmed to seem like the whole thing was shot on a single field. The point this makes is that these two "leave nothing" on every single play, no matter how tired they are, or how many opponents they are put up against. Merriman plows his way through blockers to make the tackles, and gets right back up and does it again. Jackson gets the ball and dodges defenders, sheds tackles, and of course uses all of his strength to push his way past the 6 defenders trying to stop him. with the music hitting its climax, Steven Jackson grunts and reaches out for the touchdown, beating all odds.
This ad is something that athletes look to for inspiration. In fact, I have it downloaded on my iPod to watch before games, and I know others who do the same. The ideal heart and spirit of football is represented in these ads, and by looking at the number of views and the positive comments this video has on Youtube, you can tell that many have taken notice of that.
Leaving nothing means using every single ounce of effort a person has. And although the ad is centered around football, the meaning goes for all sports, and about everything else that people do. This type of effort gets things done, and gets them done the right way. Nike hopes that consumers keep that in mind for whatever they are doing, and remember where they heard it. From Nike themselves.
Athletes should "Just Do It" and "Leave Nothing" when they do so.
Wow, Seth, I think this might be your best post of the year. I can sense the passion that you’re writing with. Your style is very engaging and your structure is technically sound. I agree, the Nike ads have always been very provocative for athletes, and really anyone who has a goal to accomplish. Your analysis has the perfect blend of personal appeal, analytic insight, and technical precision. Thanks, very well done.
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