Download Nike and Janet Champ

Nike, Title IX, and Women
• We take women’s athletics for
granted now, but before a civil
rights law was amended girls didn’t
have the same funding or access to
sports that boys did. Title IX made
it illegal not to have equal
opportunity for boys and girls.
• And even after Title IX was
enacted it wasn’t until 1990 that
Nike began thinking about their
female customers. Before that Nike
did not advertise to women at all.
• And just recently in the
2012 London Olympics
we saw American
women overtake men
not only in having more
athletes participate, but
more medals overall.
This is a direct result of
Title IX creating
opportunities for
women to be athletes.
•
But before 1990 Nike
put little effort into
women’s advertising.
This is of course ironic
because the name Nike
is originally from
mythology, the Greek
goddess of victory.
•
Nike (the company)
seemed content to be the
industry’s alpha male.
Then came Janet.
•
Her candid dialogue spoke
to women, and instigated a
cultural revolution.
•
Never before had female
athletes been so boldly
supported. Women had a
rallying cry and Nike
matured as a brand.
•
•
•
•
The copywriter on the women's
fitness account was 32-year-old
Janet Champ, who started at the
agency five years before as a
receptionist, who in two years
worked her way up to writing ads
full time.
Champ wanted to appeal to women
who weren't hard-core athletes.
What struck her was how women
always took responsibility and time
for everyone else but themselves.
She wanted to get the message
across that women needed to take
care of themselves, preferably in
Nikes.
•
She decided to write the life story of a woman: an
eight-page ad.
•
Nike worried that there was too much to read. A
basic rule of advertising is to keep the copy short.
So Nike, Wieden and Kennedy took a big chance.
•When
Oprah read the
advertisement on
television she cried.
The 8 Page Insert