In Greek mythology Nike was a goddess, she was a goddess of speed, strength and victory. Nowadays Nike is kind of a check logo that is known and recognized worldwide and instead of being a goddess she is now a shoe empire that is associated with sports and shoes. Growing up I always wondered why I always preferred Nike shoes over any other brand of shoes. I was told that Nike was just the better brand because of commercials and the fact that in downtown San Francisco had these 2 giant billboards promoting NIKE’s latest products or the next big athlete on the brand. Growing up in an urban city like San Francisco made me come to the realization that Nike was targeting us as it’s consumers because of stores like NikeTown being in the heart of the city and all the cool autograph sessions and shoe releases they would have. To a successful athletic company in America you need to make sure the black community has an interest and wears your product.
Black Folks are the original sources of the term “cool”. The shoe industry is a leading example of how us black people have become these trendsetters and fashion icons thanks to pop culture and athletics. The shoe game has become a cultural mainstay with the help of hip-hop music and basketball over the past few decades. Hip-hop and basketball are associated with a racial uplift and seen as a way out of the ghetto. Because of these reason shoe brands such as NIKE recognized the power of branding and mainly marketed towards the black community using our beloved athletes and social icons. The sneaker game changed for good in 1982 and in 1985 with the birth of the Nike Air Force 1s and the release of Michael Jordan’s signature shoe.
For as long as you can remember Nike was the brand to have on your feet when it came to sports or just hanging out with friends. Nike was the brand that had your favorite athletes wearing them and endorsing them. Nike was always the innovator when it came to new shoe designs and adding new colors that would just flat our pop and catch your attention. No other athletic brand has the status of Nike and it is by no mistake that almost everyone has a few pairs of Nike shoes in their closet right now. A movie even said, “Nothing can hold a nickel next to Nike.” Even with all this Nike at one point was just a rising brand looking for a way to make big into the basketball and sneaker scene and that ‘come up’ would happen to thanks to the black community.
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During the 70’s and mid 80’s basketball shoes only could only be in white or black and this rule was used in the NBA and NCAA mainly. So, at the time all basketball shoes mainly were made in a black and white color way or vice versa. So, all the big brands Adidas, Converse, Pony and Fila were all controlling the shoe and basketball world with their all black or all white shoes that fit the rules of basketball organizations, but one brand felt the rule needed to be changed. In 1985 Nike had signed a young popular athlete by the name of Michael Jeffery Jordan. Nike changed the sneaker community by releasing basketball shoes in the colorway of black and white and another in the colors white and red. This leap in shoes to us now seems like no big deal but to people in the late 80’s this was a game changer. My own dad even said, “When the Jordan’s first came out, I had to get both colors they came in. Just because they were different, and they marketed the new era.” Even though the NBA tried to fine Jordan for wearing them. Nike paid the fines every game thus making the shoes the first technically ban shoe in the NBA just on color. The shoes made NIKE into a shoe giant and started a trend that all other brands wouldn’t follow for another few years thus making Nike produce more colors and master the art of it.
Air Force 1’s originally became popular in New York and were given the nickname “uptowns” by the locals. It was very common to see hip-hop artist such as Jay-Z, Diddy, Biggie or Nas in a pair of air forces. They were wearing them on stage, in a music video or just as the artist was out and about which in turn increased the popularity of the shoe and marketing of the shoe. Nearly 20 years later after the original release of the shoe artist Nelly and his smash hit “Air Force Ones” made the shoes have a revival and a comeback into the fashion world. Nelly has us thinking we needed “two pair” to stunt in some air force ones.
On the other hand, the rise of Michael Jordan the athlete made us all purchase his shoes and to this day almost everyone remembers their first pair of Air Jordan’s. The desire to “Be Like Mike” is a main reason we all tried on a pair of Air Jordan’s. Aside for all the memorable moments that Jordan did in his shoes during his playing days, television shows such as Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Full House as well as movies like Do the Right Thing, He Got Game, White Men Can’t Jump and Space Jam exposed the shoes to a wider audience. Thus, increasing the popularity. Now more people than the casual basketball fan was buying Jordans.
The common theme with all the shoes is that the black community made them popular and must own shoes. It made us feel “cool” or “fresh”. Some believe that the companies such as Nike are exploiting the black community by mainly targeting the poor consumer and convincing us to purchase overpriced shoes and have a absurd amounts of shoes to stay relevant among our peers. However, some argue that Nike is a brand that focuses on bringing the best out of the black community by having black-owned shoe stores and by promoting their athletes of color more that any other athlete. Plus, the support Nike has as a company with their athletes.
One thing certain though whatever Black America deems something as cool or hot the rest of the country follows, and we must recognize the power that is in our hands. Nike is a marketing genius in regards that they know what is trending or what the black community wants to see next. Even though the black community makes up less than 13% of the total population in the United States yet they make 18% of the of all Nike buyers but they tend to spend the most with Nike. These numbers do not reflect people who are multicultural or mixed with black in the population.
Nike is also the first brand to release a basketball shoe with a price tag of $200 which is the normal to us now but in 1999 it was a game changer, but a risk that Nike took which ended up changing the shoe industry forever. While taking the idea from Michael Jordan who stated, “We could raise the shoe price and make wealthy America want to buy the shoes as well.” This idea proposed by the Nike Icon Mr. Jordan. Led Nike to create the Nike Foamposites the first ever basketball shoe with a retail price of $200 and they used a charismatic NBA player with rising popularity named Penny Hardaway at the forefront.
Hardaway already had his own signature shoe the Nike Air Penny which at the time had a price tag of $115 then they released the Foamposites that had a metallic like gloss color instead of the traditional patent leather. This gloss color made the shoes a hit but instead of white America buying the shoes the black community was purchasing the shoes first followed by the Asian community. The Foamposites created a trend of making the shoes more popular at the time than the Jordans. Thus, showing Nike that for them to a dominate shoe company they need the black community and inner-city to see accept the shoes first. Nike took this information and began have its commercials air during African-American television shows and had their product placement in many African-American films in the 1990’s to get the community to notice the swoosh logo and to associate Nike is the brand for black people.
Fast Forward to the 2018 and Nike is a juggernaut when it comes to shoes worldwide. Now Jordan is its own brand and is seen now as a little brother of Nike. When it comes to street shoes and basketball Nike is so far ahead that it is Number 1 and 3 thanks to Jordan’s in the most wore shoes by African American and other minorities worldwide. Anytime a brand seems to be closing in on the top spot Nike releasees or announces something to pull away and keep the masses on them and their products. During this year alone, the Adidas brand almost took over the shoe market with the Kanye West called the “Yeezy” which was a popular street shoe that is still highly sought after while NBA player James Harden and his MVP season made a lot of kids want to wear the “Harden” basketball shoe this year. To combat this two rising shoes Nike announced that “Just Do It” campaign and have Colin Kaepernick as the spokesperson.
For those who do not know who Colin Kaepernick is, he is a former National Football League (NFL) player, who knelt during the national anthem before he played, a silent protest police brutality and in wake of several high-profile police shootings of unarmed African American men. Dozens of other NFL players, of all backgrounds and heritage soon followed suit. They were met with backlash that was swift and severe among conservative pundits, veterans and even the president called the protest disrespectful to the military and the American flag.
Once Nike announced Kaepernick as the spokesman of the campaign. It was common to see his face on billboards in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. This unveiling led to the “BurnYourNikes” campaign on social media and even the company’s shares and brand approval ratings began to fall in the first two weeks. When the new ad commercial slogan said “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” They decided to “Just Do It.” Nike followed the backlash by announcing that they will put annual revenue into the inner-city communities that have the highest income inequality or by institutional racism. Nike even unveiled its 5-step idea to show how they were going to improve the black community.
First Nike is going to begin manufacturing its products in the cities such as Detroit and Compton by the 3rd quarter of 2019. It will slash its prices on shoes and gear so that even the poorest people can afford them. All headquarters personnel will live within a radius of the communities where they work at and must serve on the neighborhood-watch. They will diversify their board of directors and executives in design, marketing, sales to reflect the population in the average inner city. Finally, Nike will begin to donate profits to drug rehabs, tuition assistance and vocational training programs for the inner-city youth. A Nike board director said, “We don’t want anyone to think Nike is using Colin Kaepernick to appropriate ‘the struggle’ to boost our profits. To be a brand about change we must pioneer the change”.
In conclusion to have a successful fashion, shoe or an athletic apparel company you need to use the blueprint that Nike has made and mastered so well. They got a likeable athlete in Michael Jordan and made him the face of the brand and made shoes that were unlike any thing seen at the time. Most importantly they had the black community and the black consumers buying their products. In return Nike is now trying to focus on repairing the inner-cities and giving them jobs within Nike.
