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Lauren Hulmes

CAS 137H

Professor Lori Bedell

October 6, 2017

A New Nike

It is not uncommon to see many advertisements screaming, “We support feminism!” Not

only has feminism become trendy but it is also profitable. Feminism is quickly becoming

intertwined with capitalism and feminists are also concerned that the commercialization of

feminism is dampening their end goals. Women play a major role in the global market and

companies are latching onto it without actually supporting progress. Nike, in particular, has had a

long, turbulent journey with marketplace feminism. For example, the highly criticized 1995 “If

You Let Me Play” campaign suggested young girls were monolithic, savable victims and that the

right to play was only reserved for consumer women (The Feminist Wire). However, Nike is

now the top athletic wear corporation in the world and the Nike Foundation, founded in 2004,

carries enormous global power with the economic needs of women. Recently, Nike has released

a series of advertisements aimed towards different female markets in the Middle East called the

“Believe In More” campaign. “Believe In More” has received overwhelmingly positive feedback

from critics and feminists all over the world after going viral in March 2017. This leaves many

feminist consumers wondering how Nike came to be so successful in their rhetorical journey of

becoming a “feminist friendly” corporation. Both the “If You Let Me Play” and the “Believe In

More” campaigns support a similar claim of women’s equality in sport, however, the Believe In

More campaign is more successful with its use of intrinsic proofs during a kairotic moment to
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convince the feminine market that the company is genuinely making strides in encouraging

young girls that they deserve an equal position in sports and in society.

Many influential advertisements grow out of kairotic moments, and Nike’s branding

against the patriarchy was no exception. From the late 80s, the company’s corporate change had

been under heavy attack from journalists, union leaders, students, labor rights advocates and

feminists, all challenging and demanding better working conditions for Nike’s Asia based

factories, most of whom were—and continue to be—women (The Feminist Wire). Therefore,

Nike took advantage of this kairotic moment to improve their name and kick start a campaign

that was sensitive to the feminine market called the If You Let Me Play Campaign. However, this

proved to be a win-lose investment for Nike. While the company itself saw an increase in sales,

the campaign faced a new wave criticism from feminists and labor unions alike. Feminists

claimed the commercial portrayed girls as inflexible, helpless, and defenseless while labor

unions claimed that the If You Let Me Play campaign only applied to consumer women, and was

deflecting the bad press by USA Today, the New York Times, and the Oregonian surrounding

Nike’s sweatshop controversies. The criticism was about to ruin Nike’s reputation as a company

concerned feminine wellbeing, and Nike was sent back to the drawing board with its tail between

its legs.

More than twenty years later, Nike’s advertising campaigns have evolved into an

effective, well-oiled machine by cleverly appealing to kairotic moments greater than sports.

Nike’s Believe In More campaign was released in March 2017 as a women’s empowerment

advertisement series in three different countries in the Middle East following a series of kairotic

moments. The first advertisement, released in Russia, followed Putin’s decriminalization of

domestic violence. The second advertisement, released in Turkey, followed the assault of a
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woman on a bus for wearing shorts. The third and final advertisement, released in the Arab

region was released in the light of the ever-present hostile environment for females in Middle

Eastern countries and Nike’s release of the first pro-hijab line to be released in 2018

(ADWEEK). Unlike the If You Let Me Play campaign, which targeted Nike’s largest female

market to deflect bad press, Believe In More targeted Nike’s smallest and most oppressed

markets. Furthermore, following the campaign’s release, the advertisements all went viral and

received overwhelmingly positive responses from feminist groups across the globe. Therefore,

not only was the series of advertisements cleverly released, but it also confronted political issues

beyond Nike as an industry and sports as a commonplace for discrimination.

If You Let Me Play uses intrinsic proofs to appeal to the female audience and promote the

emerging ideology that if girls could just play, they would be happier and healthier while

wearing Nike gear. For example, the thirty second advertisement, written and produced by

women, used chilling phrases spoken by pre-adolescent and adolescent girls as a form of pathos

to attract the attention of women whom at the time were often not permitted to participate in

certain competitive sports clubs and organizations. Girl after girl passes across the screen and

make statements that bring logos to the advertisement. Phrases such as, “If you let me play

sports, I will have more self-confidence,” and “I will be 60% less likely to have depression,” are

stated and are a nod towards feminist concerns of the time. Furthermore, it appeals to developing

cognitive development in young girls and the emotional reminiscence of grown women who

have wanted to play, but were never allowed. Both uses of pathos and logos is a part of Nike’s

overall use of feminine discourse to come across as a company that cares deeply about the issues

involved in gender and racial inequality. However, Nike still fell flat with their overall message.

Their use of ethos portrays girls as helpless and in need of saving, miserable, and vulnerable,
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therefore asserting a problematic feminist message. Furthermore, to add insult to injury, Nike’s

controversy surrounding the sweatshop scandal tarnished their claims of support for the

advancement of women in the economic, athletic, and social spheres (The Feminist Wire).

Therefore, while the “If You Let Me Play,” campaign was commercially successful, and even

praised by consumer women, Nike still failed to convince a vast majority feminists, labor unions,

and other consumers that they generally supported the claims they asserted in their

advertisement.

Nike’s “Believe In More” campaign successfully used intrinsic proofs, such as ethos,

pathos, and logos to appeal to the insecurities of women in oppressed countries where it is

difficult to overcome societal norms and communal pressures in order to excel in athletics. In

March 2017, Nike released the “Believe In More” campaign, just a few days before International

Women’s Day and became one of Nike’s most influential and most widely discussed

advertisements by feminist organizations in recent years. Released in three different regions of

the Middle East, including Turkey and Russia, Believe In More features both typical women

from each region and famous athletes, who were once “ordinary”, but achieved greatness by

being their own inspiration. Each advertisement is strategic in its use of stylistic elements such as

song and production quality to invoke pathos, while also appealing to the culture of each

country. For example, the advertisement released in Russia features a young girl singing a

traditional Russian song about what girls are made of. Beginning with a soft melody, the song

begins to quicken and then crescendos to become an empowering ballad of girls being made of

iron, accomplishments, and achievements. Therefore, the advertisement appeals to both the

cultural traditions in Russia, while also appealing to young girls trying to shake off restrictive

expectations. In order to lend ethos and logos to the campaign, Nike includes the most influential
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athletes in the Middle East, giving the advertisement credibility and appeal to reason that if

Zahra Lari can overcome each obstacle with grace, so can everyone (CNN). Each athlete has

achieved greatness despite societal expectations, gender discrimination, and community pressure,

which instills a powerful message in the minds of young women all over the world. Therefore,

the use of intrinsic proofs in the “Believe In More” campaign is successful in solidifying Nike’s

goal, which is to impact culture and inspire athletes around the world, no matter where they live.

After years of trial and error, the corporate heads at Nike decided that instead of claiming

to support feminine ideologies through the use of advertising, that they begin to put their money

where their mouth is and transform its feminist credentials on a global scale. The best way to

understand the evolution of Nike as a company is to analyze the rhetorical devices used in their

advertisements and the kairotic moments involved in the release of each campaign. The

differences between the “If You Let Me Play” and “Believe In More” campaigns are subtle but

the kairotic moments surrounding the campaigns make all the difference in understanding the

true messaging intentions of Nike as a corporation at specific points in time and the companies

attitudes towards feminist concerns and their involvement with feminist organizations

themselves have evolved. For example, “If You Let Me Play” was successful in wooing the

female market with its use of logos and pathos presented by young girls. However, when one

takes a closer look at the actual position of the company at the time, it reveals the ad to be a

sinister diversion from a company that had no real support against the patriarchy, but was instead

pandering towards its female market while in Asia women slaved away 70 hours a week making

shoes they could not afford (The Feminist Wire). In turn, this hurled Nike into a swirl of

criticism. In comparison, “Believe In More” is successful in its use of rhetorical devices in the

forms of ethos, pathos, and a kairotic moment to attract the female market in both Nike’s
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smallest and largest female markets. While at the same time, evolving into one of the world’s

most influential and powerful corporations that actively support and work towards bettering the

socioeconomic position of women.

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Work Cited

“How Nike's Neoliberal Feminism Came to Rule the Global South.” The Feminist Wire, 13 Sept.

2015, www.thefeministwire.com/2015/09/nike-neoliberal-feminism/.

Sun-Sentinel, Margo Harakas Fort Lauderdale. “'If You Let Me Play Sports. . .' Nike Ad Uses

Powerful Statistics To Encourage Girls To Participate.” Spokesman.com, The

Spokesman-Review, 15 July 2011, www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/oct/10/if-you-let-me-play-

sports-nike-ad-uses-powerful/.

Ngabirano, Anne-Marcelle. “Are Women Being Played by 'Feminist' Ads?” USA Today,

Gannett Satellite Information Network, 24 Mar. 2017,

www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/03/22/have-companies-taken-over-feminism/98706852/.

Luckthelady. “W+K Explains What Unites Its Powerful Nike Women Ads Running in Russia,

Turkey and the Middle East.” – Adweek, Adweek, 8 Mar. 2017,

www.adweek.com/creativity/wk-explains-what-unites-its-powerful-nike-women-ads-running-in-

russia-turkey-and-the-middle-east/.

Egarter, Simone. “Nike Ad Features Arab Female Athletes.” CNN, Cable News Network, 21

Feb. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/02/21/middleeast/nike-arab-women-commercial/?iid=EL.