Just Etre: Nike’s Global Appeal in a Shrinking World

When I was 10, my favorite Christmas gift was a pair of Sugar Ray Leonard boxing gloves. I walked around the house with them on all the time, hitting walls, hitting doors, hitting my sister. When my cousins came over, we’d put them on and go in the backyard and box. As I got older, I realized that products are interesting if they’re attached to a specific name. The Nike Ad with LeBron James is inspirational, not because it sells a specific product but because it targets an audience with something we all want: hope. The commercial succeeds in part due to its use of pathos and ethos, appealing to our need to belong and our need for guidance.