Research Question:

1
Research Question

• How has Nike portrayed female athletes with its
  print and commercial advertisements from 1987
  through the present time?

Theresa Waldron Communication History 04/12/08
2

The Social Construction of Gender in Sports

• The topic of female athletes and their role in
  the media has continued to be an ongoing
  controversial topic, especially in advertising
  media.

• The advertising process first addresses the
  construction of gender and the role of
  advertising, and then tells the story of Nikes
  groundbreaking struggle to construct a new
  reality in Nike's advertising to women from 1987
  through today.

• This is a proposal to see how Nike produced
  advertising that challenged the media norms
  affecting the roles of women associated with the
  institution of sports

3
The Social Construction of Gender in Sports

• Although sports may appear to be a society with
  equal access for both men and women in the United
  States, research supports a gender divide that
  has viewed sports as a domain for men (1).
• Talent, instinct, intelligence, size, strength,
  quickness, hard work, and risk taking are
  depicted as the basis for men's success, but
  talent and hard work take a back seat to emotion,
  family, and luck for women (2).
• The media have played a significant role in this
  cultural battle of men versus women, both in
  constructing new gender roles tied to Nike
  advertising.
  -For example, providing
  coverage of more sporting events that appeal to
  female audiences.

4
Nikes Promotional Efforts Men Versus
Women

• Prior to 1987, there were no Nike advertisements
  directed to women because it was believed it
  would compromise Nikes authentic and serious
  sport image (3).
• Nike had to learn to communicate with women. The
  company assumed that athletes would be equally
  strong role models to women as to men. However,
  women didn't treat athletes as heroes in the way
  that men did.

• Given that men were Nike's primary target market,
  Nike had a vested interest in maintaining the
  roles associated with the institution, which
  favored men as participants and spectators, and
  supported different media depictions for men than
  for women (4).
• Traditionally, men have dominated the consumption
  of organized sports, though the gender gap began
  to narrow in the late 1980s.

5
Themes of Empowerment (1988-1995)

• Nike advertiser, Janet Champ felt that the images
  in advertising confined women to traditional
  institutional roles at a time when many women
  were beginning to reject them (6).

• The first advertising message that Nike created
  for women began in 1990 and encouraged women to
  reject traditional holds and challenged them to
  be part of a community empowered by fitness (5).

"We found magazines so disgusting ... that we
made a list of what made us sick ..." (7).
6
Themes of Empowerment (1988-1995)

• In response, Nike made an attack on traditional
  women's advertising in spring and fall of 1990.
  One page of a two-page spread listed the things
  that other women's advertising pressured women to
  do, wear, or be "your push-up bra ... your
  control top pantyhose ... your black anything."
  The opposite page asked women to challenge that
  list with the words Self-Support From Nike.
  Just do it (9)

(8)
7
Themes of Empowerment (1988-1994)

• The Empathy Ad ran during spring of 1991
  portraying the life of a woman from childhood to
  middle age as she exuded ever greater confidence
  with the passage of time (10).

• Nike was satisfied that the ads opened a
  groundbreaking future with women that ultimately
  empowered women to reject traditional messages.

(11)
Nike understood that their ads had the power to
construct reality, shape culture, and draw women
into a ritual for change (12).
8
Themes of Empowerment (1988-1994)

• Professor Deb Merskin states, One of my favorite
  Nike ads of all time includes the famous Marilyn
  Monroe ad of the 90s. The fact that Nike
  represented a famous actress instead of a famous
  athlete shows that Nike has power as a major
  corporation (14).

• The ad portrayed a picture of a beautiful but
  vulnerable Marilyn Monroe that contrasted with
  her persona as a sex symbol. This juxtaposition
  strongly implied that the unrealistic standards
  contributed to Marilyn's tragic life, and that
  women should reject those standards in favor of
  ones they can control (15).

(16)
A woman is often measured by the things she
cannot control.By all the outside things that
don't ever add up to who she is on the
inside.And so if a woman is to be measured, let
her be measured by the things she can control, by
who she is and who she is trying to become.
Because as every woman knows, measurements are
only statistics. And statistics lie (13).
9
Themes of Empowerment (1988-1994)

• In 1993, Nike began connecting the idea of
  empowerment to fitness

... And one day when you're out in the world
running, feet flying, you'll hear these immortal
words calling, calling inside your headOh, you
run like a girl. And you will say shout scream
whisper call back, Yes. What exactly did you
think I was? Just do it (17).
(18)
(19)

• The ads encouraged women to be active
  participants in sports, in which they don't have
  to feel physically inferior to men.

10
Themes of Empowerment (1988-1994)

• Nike realized that the new target market of
  younger women believed they had already achieved
  it, even if the rest of society, including other
  advertisers, hadn't yet caught up (20).

Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
(22)
(23)
Mia Hamm.
"It wasn't advertising. It was truth. We weren't
selling a damn thing. Just the truth ..." (21).
11
Themes of Entitlement (1995-1997)

• According to Professor Deb Merskin, Nike does a
  great job targeting female athletes to
  participate in sports, especially getting after a
  younger group of females. Not only does the
  commercial demonstrate femininity, but a diverse
  group of females as well (26)

• In 1995, Nike shifted its focus from fitness to
  sports, and believed that young women should have
  the power and privilege to participate in
  competitive sports.

(25)

• Young women in the target market "don't think
  about fitness they play sports because it's fun
  (24).

12
Themes of Entitlement (1995-1997)

• The Nike commercial, If You Let Me Play
  highlighted the benefits of girls' participation
  in sports and blamed society for creating a
  system beyond women's control that led to
  negative consequences in the past (27)

... If you let me play, I will suffer less
depression. If you let me play, I will be 60
percent less likely to get breast cancer. If you
let me play, I will be more likely to leave a man
who beats me. If you let me play, I will be less
likely to get pregnant before I want to. I will
learn what it means to be strong. If you let me
play sports (28).
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vAQ_XSHpIbZE
(29)
13
Themes of Entitlement (1995-1997)

• This Nike ad demonstrates a womens physical and
  mental toughness. Nike wanted to portray a
  competitive womens team through close-up images
  of their faces, which highlight the intensity of
  their thought process.

(30)

• The 1996 Soccer Olympic ad is an example of an
  intentional strategy by Nike to make sure that
  male viewers are not threatened by women invading
  too far onto their turf (31).

14
Championship Series Themes (1998-2000)

• To accomplish this time period of Nike ads, the
  company loosened their restrictions on women
  athletes by telling the audience that the
  individual is to be remembered as a part of a
  community, not a team(32).

(33)
http//0-muse.jhu.edu.janus.uoregon.edu/journals/a
dvertising_and_society_review/v007/videos/7.2nike_
getting_lucky.mov
(34)
http//0-muse.jhu.edu.janus.uoregon.edu/journals/a
dvertising_and_society_review/v007/videos/7.2nike_
celebration.mov
15
Championship Series Themes (1998-2000)
Female Stereotypes vs. Distinction of Femininity

• Nikes print coverage of female accomplishments
  demonstrate a similar trend to appropriate images
  of women in sport as sexy and seductive.

• The 1999 ad featured World Cup Soccer Champion
  Brandi Chastain ripping off her jersey after
  scoring the final goal. This ad was extremely
  controversial because it exploited sexuality
  rather than athleticism.

(35)
16
Championship Series Themes (1998-2000)
Female Stereotypes vs. Distinction of Femininity

• Nikes purpose of the photos were to show off
  Chastains toned body she had earned through
  intense physical training rather than to promote
  any kind of sex appeal.

• Although images of aggression, physicality,
  confrontation, and control are mix together with
  those of fetishism and femininity, Nike presents
  its ads in a noncontradictory way, which makes
  notions of both femininity and feminism
  aesthetically appealing (36).

(38)
This type of fetishism teaches us to appreciate
women's bodies in detail (37).
17
Championship Series Themes (1998-2000)
Female Stereotypes vs. Distinction of Femininity

• Another Nike commercial ran during the 2000 NCAA
  tournament. I CAN demonstrates that women can
  take on a different approach to athletics, while
  men sacrifice their bodies through acts of
  violence and aggression (39). The implication
  that Nike wanted to portray is that it is okay
  for females to appear feminine and sensual and
  still compete with the men.

http//www.youtube.com/watch?viZxQDAyFY6s
(41)
."I Can Be StrongI Can Be The Next Jordan.Be
Afraid Of NothingI Know I Can (40).
18
Product Themes (Present Day)

• Nikes marketing spin is beginning to focus on
  stronger messages that portray women and girls
  being respected as athletes and also overcoming
  stereotypes from the media.

(42)
"It's important to hear from women who overcome
stereotypes, ignorance and inequality . Serena
Williams
19
Product Themes (Present Day)

• These are ads of Nike Women in collaboration with
  Dove, celebrating the beauty of athletic women.
  Nike portrays that it does not matter how rough
  and sporty these women are, they are still
  beautiful and feminine inside and out... (43)

(44)
(45)
20
Conclusion

• A gender divide in Nike athletics has allowed
  many females to enjoy the financial and social
  rewards attached to athleticism, which has
  historically been available to men only (46).
• Women's participation in contact sports has
  helped to deconstruct the notion of masculinity
  and the ideology of gender difference.
• Since the late 80s until today, Nike has been
  unfolding the importance of female acceptance in
  sports and the conception that females can
  participate on a males level of performance
  within its commercials and advertisements.

Nike continues to portray female athletes at a
high level of awareness compared to other
advertising agencies (47).
21
Bibliography
Primary Sources Just Do-It Series. Mia Hamm.
Sports Illustrated. Advertisement. 1994. Just
Do-It Series. Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Sports
Illustrated. Advertisement. 1994. If You Let
Me Play. NIKE Corporation. Advertisement.
1995. If You Let Me Play. Nike Corporation.
Commercial. 1995. Mia Hamm. Sports Illustrated.
Soccer Olympics. 1996. Chastain, Brandi. Gear in
Sports. Advertisement. 1999. I CAN. Nike
Corporation. Commercial. 2000. Are You Looking
At My Titles?. Serena Williams. USA TODAY.
Advertisement. 2007. NIKE REAL WOMEN. Nike
Corporation. Advertisement. 2007.
22
Self-Support From Nike. Just Do It. Nike
Corporation. Advertisement. 1990. Empathy
Print Campaign. Nike Corporation. Advertisement.
1991. Dialogue Campaign. Marilyn Monroe. Nike
Corporation. Advertisement. 1991. Emotional
Boy. Nike Corporation. Advertisement. 1993.
Emotional Runner. Nike Corporation.
Advertisement. 1993. Get Lucky. Championship
Series. Nike Corporation. Commercial. 2000.
Celebration. Championship Series. Nike
Corporation. Commercial. 2000 Secondary
Sources Carty, Victoria. Textual Portrayals
of Women Athletes. A Journal of Womens Studies.
26.2 (2005) 132-136. Grow,
Jean M. Selling Truth How Nike's Advertising to
Women. Advertising and Society Review. Ed.
Joyce M. Wolburg. The Advertising Educational
Foundation, Inc, 2006 90. Interview Source
Deb Merskin, Associate Professor of Advertising
in the School of Journalism and Communication