Wieden+Kennedy leverages its independence to make advertising that transcends branding and drives the pop-culture conversation.
On September 3, 2018, at 2:20 p.m., an image appeared on Instagram: a tightly cropped black-and-white close-up of a face, eyebrows, and chin bordering a resolute gaze, and the message “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” You know what I’m talking about. That ad.
Nike’s Colin Kaepernick spot was more than just an ad. By centering a campaign around the controversial quarterback, the company was making a bold statement in defense of the banished NFL star’s career-ending protest against racial injustice. The reaction was explosive and immediate. Celebrities, consumers, pro athletes, activists, and the president of the United States all weighed in. Welcome to Hot Take City, Population: the Internet. Brand suicide! Brand bravery! Buying more Nikes! Lighting Nikes on fire! Even those skeptical of Nike making a social justice claim, given its own issues regarding gender discrimination and factory conditions over the past year, had to admit this was marketing at its very best. Advertising as agitator, the popcorn of pop culture.
This moment may have felt like an instance of spontaneous combustion, but the seed for it had been planted 30 years earlier, when the ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, working for Nike, galvanized a consumer/social movement with the phrase “Just Do It.”
Denne historien er fra February 2019-utgaven av Fast Company.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 2019-utgaven av Fast Company.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
THE NEW RULES OF BUSINESS TRAVEL
In the era of hybrid teams, everyone is a road warrior-not just sales teams and C-suite execs. It's part of why business travel spending is expected to finally reach, and perhaps surpass, pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, according to Deloitte. But, as with everything, work trips are not what they were in 2019. From airlines to banks, companies are finding new ways to make business travel easier-and even a little fun.
INTELLIGENT IMPACT
BUSINESS LUMINARIES SHARE HOW AI CAN INTERSECT WITH SOCIAL MISSION.
REDDIT'S REVENGE
IN AN ERA OF AI UPHEAVAL. THE CACOPHONOUS SOCIAL HUB EMERGES AS THE HUMAN-DRIVEN INTERNET'S LAST GREAT HOPE.
SO MANY WAYS TO LOSE
In the Ozempic era, Weight-Watchers is remaking itself to be something for everyone meal-plan program and a tele-health prescription service. But have consumers already lost their appetite?
10/10 - THE 10 MOST INNOVATIVE PEOPLE OF THE LAST 10 YEARS
In honor of Fast Company's 10th Innovation Festival in September, we identified 10 industrious leaders whose groundbreaking efforts defined the past decade in business. We spoke to them about their extraordinary achievements in tech, medicine, entertainment, and more. And we explored how the impact of their work has withstood passing fads, various presidential administrations, a pandemic, and many, many quarterly reports.
The Mysterious Reappearance of the Reggie Bar
How a beloved 1970s candy got called back up to the major leagues.
Gabriella Khalil
Gabriella Khalil, creative director, answers our career questionnaire.
The Fast and the Furious
High prices at McDonald's, Taco Bell, and other chains are sparking consumer revolt.
Lost in Truncation
Lost in Truncation Generative AI was supposed to unleash our creativity. Instead, it became our cultural trash compactor. Welcome to the age of summarization.
Campus Radicals
Welcome to UATX, Austin's new well-funded and controversial anti-woke university.
