My Quick Smells Like French Toast

When it comes to athletic footwear, Nike is not the shoe company to which I pledge my allegiance.  However, it is the company whose TV spots I will praise over the next few paragraphs.
Nike’s “Become Legendary” campaign launched several weeks ago.  The campaign promotes the ultimate hoops legend and the Air Jordan XX3.  One spot features “new school” legends, such as Carmelo Anthony, Derek Jeter and T. O., before they were household names.  The first line begins with, “it’s not about the shoe”, although when you see these extraordinary stars, before they were stars, you realize it is all about the shoe — with the right footwear, determination and talent, you too can be a superstar.
The next recent campaign that Nike launched was for the Nike SPARQ Training shoes and was themed “My Better.” In addition to catchy tags like, “You’re speed moves like a gravy bowl” and “You’re agility owes my agility twenty bucks,” the 30-second spot features top athletes like Adrian Peterson and Kevin Durant.  I actually look forward to seeing this spot because it is so entertaining.
Finally, my absolute favorite Nike spot is the third in the series from the “Become Legendary” campaign.  The spot showcases clips of well-known milestones in sports history, including John Tompson’s Hoyas, the Appalachian Mountaineers and Jimmy V.
Since I’m a huge sport fan (or freak) I enjoy the emotional impact of all of the legends.  The impact does not stop there, as Nike’s revenue grew 16% over the same period last quarter.  And to borrow a phrase from Nike’s Become Legendary campaign, “My better is better than your better.”  And in Nike’s case, they’re better because they don’t have to tell you they’re better.