Brand Onomatopoeia

Nike.

Says.

Boom.



A collection of awesome new :15's from Nike do something so few ads are able - they reinforce, arguably advance, its brand equity with a single word. That word also happens to be a sound, which contributes to the power of translation.

Nike delivers the boom not only through spoken word, but claps, bats, dunks, collisions, explosions, reactions, hand gestures and more.

Here's another:



(I guess Bo still knows.)

Sure, Nike has something going for it that most brands can't claim. Money. Money has made it possible to invest sufficiently to build a great brand, grow awareness to near 100% and enjoy a position where it needn't be as worried with selling individual product RTBs as it is reminding people why its brand marque is still as fresh as ever.

So, while Nike may represent the unattainable when it comes to ad investment, I would argue every brand, big or small, needs a little bit of boom. Boom is not a tagline - it's a statement that's made by the brand, not for the brand.

It's not what we, as marketers, want to say about our brands, but what our brands are capable of saying for themselves. If we were to go observe our brands in their own natural environment, what would they say?

These are rhetorical questions, of course, but it's this sort of smart strategy and powerful execution that makes it possible for Nike to make a statement with nothing more than that little swoosh.

ON STRATEGY. boom.