Nike’s ‘Kobe System’ Commercial Analysis

The Nike “Kobe System” ads encourage people to buy their shoes by using very famous people who are mostly at the pinnacle of their career and who would be deemed highly successful, and suggesting that they can be better, for example when Bryant called one of the celebrities “nothing more than” a Chinese megastar, and another celebrity not reaching “success at success at success”. Kobe Bryant is very well known in the sports industry, so Nike is suggesting that you can become more successful by being in his “system” through buying their shoe. Nike is also portraying Kobe as someone with all the answers and a symbol of leadership, as he says “your welcome” when the actors mention their successes signifying that their achievements were his doing.

Nike is catering to the audience by using the hashtag #kobesystem, because hashtags were very popular in 2012, and they allow people to easily find out more about their product, which they have not mentioned much about in the ad and only show one shot of. They also use humour so that people remember the ad because jokes will stick in the audience’s minds after the ad has ended. Nike also is focusing largely on a male audience due to the fact that all three celebrities featured are male, however also reach different demographics by including multiple races and nationalities. Nike makes sure that the audience can connect with the featured celebrities by making sure they have elements of their normal behaviour in real life. For example, profanity is commonly found in Kanye West’s music, so making him say “WTF” makes his listeners watching the ad feel a sense of familiarity.

Now, I think Nike’s ads portray a very different message and focus more on achievable success rather than celebrities. In 2020, people want to see more representation in the media, so since this ad focuses mainly on the rich and famous who’s level we are unlikely to attain, I think people would not be as inspired to buy their product as opposed to in 2012. Nike’s recent advertisements have portrayed the message that it is hard work and sacrifice that brings success, and that it is more about the journey (as well as their products, of course) that is important, contrasting to the people portrayed in this ad who are already successful. Regarding the people featured in the video, most people would still be very inclined to look into Nike because of the featuring of Kobe Bryant. His recent passing caused a big hit on the population, hence causing him to be at the top of news articles and social media platforms. This suggests that people now are perhaps even more prepared to buy Nike products if Kobe Bryant is the star of the campaign.

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