Nike’s Dream Crazy Advertisement

Ruffa Aquino

Communication 100

Term Paper 1

April 12, 2012

 

Nike’s Dream Crazy Advertisement

It seems that everywhere you look these days, someone is trying to sell you something or otherwise trying to get you to part with your money.  It’s impossible to get through a single day without being exposed to advertising of one sort or another – television commercials, highway billboards, Internet banner ads, even Hollywood feature films that discreetly insert branded products into the script to subliminally invade the viewers’ consciousness.  No one can get away from advertisements, it seems, but not everyone views them or uses them in the same way.  Partly for this reason, the tools of persuasion available to advertisers are as plentiful as the products and services they promote.

One way of thinking about the effects of advertising on the consumer is the Elaboration Likelihood Model Theory (ELM).  ELM theorizes that when an audience is exposed to an advertisement (or other form of persuasion), a process of “elaboration” is triggered.  The ad is processed and evaluated, memories are formed, attitudes are crystallized, and then the viewer (or reader) either accepts or rejects the ad’s call to action.  How the process of elaboration unfolds in any particular case depends in large part on whether the ad requires a high or a low level of effort on the individual’s part.  A low level of effort is associated with peripheral route processing, in which the individual is more easily persuaded by captivating images and sounds than by any reasoned assessment of a product’s virtues.  A high level of effort relies less on surface impressions than on a thoughtful weighing of the product’s pros and cons. 

Put another way, central route processing places greater emphasis on the informational content of an ad than on its emotional triggers.  The audience absorbs the details and weighs the pros and cons of the advertised product (e.g.,Nike sneakers are made for comfort and help prevent foot injuries), regardless of the bells and whistles that may infuse the sales pitch (e.g.,Take it from Serena and LeBron: Nikes are the sneakers of champions).  Peripheral route processing, in contrast, derives its power from secondary factors such as visual attractiveness, source credibility, identification with social status and lofty ideals, use of colors and music, and other appeals to an audience’s sensory receptors as opposed to their reasoning skills. 

To understand the differences between the central and peripheral methods of elaboration, consider Nike’s Dream Crazy advertisement.

Peripheral Route Processing

The Nike ad tugs at the full range of human emotions with a rapid-fire sequence of images that are by turns excruciating and exhilarating to watch.  We see youthful skateboarders taking big risks and nasty spills that would make many people cringe.  We see a boy wrestler who has no legs miraculously pinning down an opponent who has the use of both legs.  We see a surfer literally soaring above the ocean before making a perfect landing on the crest of a big wave.  We see a young Muslim woman wearing a headdress and boxing gloves, jabbing the air like a prizefighter in training.  We see a young girl in a wheelchair dribbling two basketballs with both hands in near-perfect synchrony.  

And that’s just in the ad’s first 30 seconds. These jarring images, spliced together to create a breathtaking crescendo of visually arousing feats, seek to take viewers out of their comfort zone and force them to think big.  Viewers are challenged to abandon whatever fears may be holding them back in life and to believe that greatness is within their reach, just as it was for the celebrities depicted in the ad.  To borrow a phrase from an old television sports program, the viewer is shown both the agony of defeat and the thrill of victory, with the unmistakable message being that defeat is only a temporary stop on the path to eventual victory – and, yes, greatness.  

Note that the word “Nike” is never uttered in the ad.  Glimpses can be had throughout the video of the world-famous sneakers and the accompanying jerseys bearing the famous Nike logo.  But not one word is said about any Nike product’s performance, comfort, durability, price, or any other specific features that could distinguish Nike’s products from those of other brands.  Indeed, we learn virtually nothing about Nike products except that they somehow end up on the feet of so many of the world’s superstars, both famous and unknown.  In each scene, the ad takes viewers down the path of least resistance, avoiding concrete facts in favor of tapping into people’s innermost hopes, fears, and aspirations and thus create an irresistible emotional bond between the viewer and Nike products.  What’s most important in peripheral route processing is not how well Nike sneakers are made, how long they last, or how well they breathe on a hot tennis court, but rather the promise of empowerment and unstoppability that is planted in the viewer’s consciousness.

 The “Dream Crazy” ad’s use of language reinforces its physical imagery by liberally peppering the narrative with loaded phrases that push people’s emotional buttons. Do people think you’re “crazy?” Do they “laugh at what you think you can do?”  Do they say you’ll never “be somebody?”  Do they make you afraid of “sacrificing everything” to pursue your dreams?  Hold on, Nike tells us.  These aren’t problems, but opportunities.  The naysayers are “non-believers,” people who stop to dissect every if, and, or but of the transaction and end up talking themselves out of it.  Nike “believers,” in contrast, take a leap of faith.  They jump into the fray with their eyes closed, trusting – believing– that by having a pair of Nikes on their feet, they will get to where they want to go, faster and better.  

Calling your dreams “crazy” is a compliment, not an insult, the ad says.  Being the homecoming queen at a football game is fine, but why stop there?  Join the team and become a linebacker, too.  Being the fastest marathon runner in the world is all well and good, but don’t hang up your sneakers until you’ve become “the fastest ever.”  You grew up poor?  Then don’t just become a tennis player; become “the greatest athlete ever.”  You’ve beaten brain cancer?  Great.  Now lose 120 pounds and win an Ironman triathlon.  

As the ad enters its final minute, the visuals accompanying narrator Colin Kaepernick’s words become bolder and more cathartic in their depictions of human triumph.  A marathon runner breaks the tape as he crosses the finish line, then finds himself surrounded by his vanquished competitors, one of whom is admiringly rubbing the winner’s bald head.  LeBron James, hailed as “the best basketball player on the planet,” makes a spectacular dunk on the basketball court before appearing in a suit, microphone in hand, speaking outside a school he founded for at-risk kids.  Serena Williams, who started out in life as “a girl from Compton” and went on to become “the greatest athlete ever,” makes a series of powerful shots on the tennis court, her passions unleashed as she pumps her fists in the air and looks up at the heavens with an ear-to-ear smile that represents sheer ecstasy.  Even the unknown heroes in the Nike ad are impossible to ignore: The 16-year-old refugee from Africa who scores a crucial goal for Canada’s national soccer team.  The school-age football player who makes a running catch with one hand.  What is the common thread that joins all these people of different ages, races, and creeds? Their drive for excellence and, of course, their faith in Nike.  A seductive message, indeed. 

Central Route Processing

As noted earlier, central route processing involves logical thinking and scrutiny.  Those who perceive messages of persuasion via this route tend to penetrate beyond the message’s superficial appeal and extract information about whether and how the advertised product may or may not meet the viewer’s specific needs.  By definition, therefore, central processing requires both the motivation and the ability to think critically about the ad’s message and topic.  Because central route processing involves quite a bit of effort, including the distillation of facts and the weighing of alternatives, attitude changes arrived at via the central vs. the peripheral route tend to last longer, act as greater predictors of behavior, and be more resistant to counter-messages.  By the same token, attitude changes generated via the peripheral route are more fleeting and more vulnerable to change based on subsequently acquired information.

Central route processing of Nike’s “Dream Crazy” ad is likely to be an exercise in indifference or frustration.  As noted earlier, the ad makes no effort to discuss the specific attributes of Nike products, to compare and contrast them with other brands, or to persuade viewers of why Nike products will meet their specific needs.  Viewers who see the ad through the central-processing lens may well ask themselves, “What does any of this have to do with what I’m looking for, i.e.,extra-wide sneakers that come in the same range of colors as my sports wardrobe and won’t aggravate my calluses?”  Nothing in the ad even attempts to answer any questions about what specifically it is about Nike sneakers that makes them the wise shopper’s No. 1 choice.  

Of course, Nike is not even trying to make a carefully reasoned pitch about the pros and cons of its sneakers for the discriminating viewer.  This ad is appealing to something more superficial, but in a way more powerful. It tugs at the heartstrings.  It delivers an occasional blow to the solar plexus. It unleashes compassion and joy.  It’s not that Nike can’t make a cogent case for the superiority of its sneakers.  It’s simply that in this ad, Nike didn’t feel it needed to.