Nike sells sneakers?
The greatest thing about TiVo? Probably that you can skip over the ads. I used to be able to stomach them, but they just don’t make any sense anymore. I find it odd that in an industry where your key purpose is just to get your name across that these 30-second spots on TV are all so post-modern.
It all started with the absurd attempts at creativity that were being thrown around during Super Bowls, which reached ridiculous levels of abstraction during the dot-com era (Remember the cowboys rounding up cats? Now, do you remember the company?). Now those once-a-year spectacles have infiltrated the normal rotation.
Seth Stevenson of Slate.com agrees with me. He’s perplexed by the new LeBron James ad campaign — The LeBrons — by Nike.
These Nike ads are baffling. Nothing happens in them. There’s no explanation as to who these characters are, how they relate to each other, and what (if anything) they’re trying to sell. I eventually managed to suss out that the product in question is the newest LeBron James signature shoe. But only one of the four spots in this campaign deigns to show us the sneaker at all.
Since Nike is selling high-end sneakers to idiot teenagers, I understand how it can become more about advertising an image or a lifestyle. But having four generations of LeBrons sit around a table talking about random stuff doesn’t exactly qualify as something that will tap into a teen’s cool factor.
January 4th, 2006 at 12:44 pm
dued, when old lebron dances to superfreak i laugh my ass off… didn’t know it was a nike shoe commercial until now, however.
January 4th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
It’s sort of like Nike’s Michael Jordan/Kilroy ads… I think.
I never understood those either.
January 4th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
The best shoe commercial ever was the Converse weapons ad from like 1987 where the players rapped a bit. With the ugly (but phat) shoes that matched their uniforms. Also, see, back then basketball players did not actually rap in their free time. I remember very little of it but I’ll be happy to share:
Isiah Thomas: duh duh duh, duh duh duh-all, “they let Isiah play like he’s 10 feet tall”
Mark Aguire: “ same is true of Mark Aguire, when I wear Weapons, I’m on Fire”
Kevin Mchale: duh duh duh duh duh duh-ale “the weapon is the choice of Kevin Mchale”
Larry Bird: “You already know what they did for me…”
All: “What?”
Larry Bird: “I walked away with the MVP”
Pros: Each player shows you the shoe. He tells you what he does it in (on fire, 10 feet tall, etc.), and they even say their name (all did except Bird).
Con: There were like 3-4 more players (Magic, Bernard King I think). I apparently can’t remember any of it. I’ve pretty much wasted your time here. Sorry.
March 12th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
It was “For low post moves that never fail, the Weapon’s the choice of Kevin McHale”.