Chariots of Nike

It's also very GenX in being advertising that's actually *effective*, and operating along strange pathways. I've never seen the ad on TV, but now I've seen it, and am actually on the verge of buying the shoe after playing around with the Nike shoe customizer software and learning about how the shoe is designed....

The problem with all this targeted marketing is that for all the effort that goes into selling 200 dollar shoes by targeting Xers pop culture iconography along with inflating the egos of marketing firms (they consider themselves creative artists, by the way, not shoe peddlers)-- for anyone interested -pls check out this exceptional analysis by PBS's Frontline on modern advertising and marketing at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/ --people dont like feeling manipulated - I personally would much prefer a straight forward sales schtick than the subversive stuff that underlies much of these brand awareness spots other memorable examples of marketing by Xers for men: Carl's jr paris hilton burger king axe perfume any beer or video game ad for women: new brawny paper towels old navy commercials Gap singers on white background for both sexes: apple ipod nike geico commercials that seem to be about something else (eg speed racer..) these i remember off the top of my head -so i guess the brand awareness part was very successful -but in point of fact, I actually have not brought any of these items (except for a burger king whopper but i liked the taste of it prior to the new ads) anyway some ads actually cause me (and others my age) to avoid or be repulsed by the product - eg those Quiznos ads featuring those weird singing rat creatures totaly turned me off their subs - what focus group liked those??? others were kind of weird: eg those radio shack ads featuring teri hatcher and howie long - holiday inn express ads also a note about the hubris of some ads: the IBM linux ads with the blond kid who looked like eminem -its open source guys, not the end of world hunger! most of the old apple think different ads ( einstein would probably have used a pc) big companies like to act like there curing cancer or creating a modern utopia when their selling us stuff we dont need or can't afford we need more ad awareness these days in our marketing-saturated world, cynical indifference will only protect you so far... sometimes it feels like blasphemy to say this but: Coke is just sugared water, budweiser -cheap beer an ipod is an over-expensive mp3 player apple computers are cool-looking -way too expensive unix machines, Nike, Reebok, makes 200 shoes off the back of overseas labour who are payed a pittance a Rolex is a watch Gap is store that sells blue jeans a lexus is an expensive toyota hummers are big uncomfortable trucks google is just a search engine harry potter is not the best children's literature etc... I also think its interesting how many of the same people who argue that tv and other media does not influence behaviour are themselves supported by the billions of advertising dollars their companies spend for or rely upon for sales of whatever product they are selling or promoting, be it a food product, entertainment, or a even politican -at last count the republicans and democrats: President Bush, Sen. John Kerry, their political parties and allied groups having spent more than $600 million. (over HALF A BILLION DOLLARS!!) on just one election..

the best thing about that whole campaign...there are these guys who believe running barefoot is the best way to run & train naturally..ken saxton, etc...and nike..markets a SHOE for it. :lol:

Oh, that's logical enough - the premise is basically that you can get the best of both worlds. Get the benefits of running barefoot without having to worry about broken glass, jagged rocks, dirt, and all that other not-fun stuff that happens if you start running barefoot in your pampered, Western, shoe-wearing feet. Whether the premises are *true*, I dunno, but I get the appeal of it.

Best sneaker I've ever worn? Merrell. The moment I put them on in the shoe store they felt more comfortable than my comfortably well-worn old whatevertheyweres. Plus, though they weren't adverstised as such, they are completely breathable AND waterproof. In the two years I've had them, my feet haven't endured the sweat then freeze cycle in the wintertime; during April showers I walk through puddles; and in summer heat they feel (almost) like sandals. I'll NEVER (want to) wear Nike again.

Can someone tell me the name of the song on that commercial? It's so inspirational!

I hope everyone liked the commercial. That's me in the front. I wear the shoes for some of my runs. However, if I wear them too often my feet start to hurt. They're great to walk around in though.