Was Nike right to just do it?
By: Ben Webb
Nike just did it! The brand with the swoosh, the gung-ho attitude, and a roster of star athletes as long as the Mississippi just benched its iconic tagline. The trusty star performer ‛Just Do It’ has been replaced by the promising but untested youngster ‛Why Do It?’.
It’s a brave decision. ‛Just Do It’ is a winner, and it would be easy to keep relying on a long-run crowd pleaser. But sales have been sluggish, and traditional rivals like Adidas and new brands like On and Hoka are capturing Gen Z’s imagination more successfully. Nike is about being bold, and had to change the game: “We weren’t as sharp and clear on our values as a company,” Nicole Graham, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer, admitted to Adweek.
The world is changing fast, and in the past, Nike has often led the way. Taglines matter. The first ad in the ‛Just Do It’ campaign was unveiled back in 1988 and starred a genial 80-year-old ex-hod carrier, Walt Stack, who jogs over the Golden Gate and tells us he runs 17 miles a day. The ad appears simple and innocent, but this was an era when ads had time to tell stories. The main challenge back then was to encourage more of us to take health seriously. In short, to buy sneakers and run more. It was a call to action.
Later, in 1995, Nike promoted the participation of girls and young women in sport with the hard-hitting film ‛If You Let Me Play’. It talked about the health benefits—both mental and physical—of sports that they were being denied. And, in 2018, Nike’s controversial ad ‛Dream Crazy’ backed ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had protested openly against racial injustice in sport. It was a great example of brand activism. Once again, Nike was shaping the debate. Sales followed.
Just doing it wasn’t ‘doing it’?
Nike’s full 2025 fiscal year revenue decreased 10% year-over-year to $46.3 billion. ‘Just Do It’ was clearly no longer hitting the younger generation. Generation Z needs more than simple corporate calls to action. They question brands and want to believe in them. And there is a massive 92% yearning for authenticity above everything else, according to Ernst & Young. The challenge was reconfigured as a question, a move that invites collaboration between brand and customer.
It’s a new way of relating to the customer, reminiscent of Apple’s mould-breaking new tagline in 1997 that challenged us to ‘Think Different’. Featuring an array of “crazy” geniuses (from Einstein to Gandhi), the ad suggested the computer was not just a boring grey box plonked on a desk. Like an IBM computer, which had the simple tagline ‘Think”.
Or Volvo’s tagline ‘For Life’, which replaced the dreary commission to ‘Drive Safely’. Today, a Volvo has value in three ways: it’s fun and enhances life, it’s safe and protects life, and it’s built beautifully to last a lifetime…
“‘Just Do It’ isn’t just a tagline, it’s a spirit that lives in every heartbeat of sport,” explains Graham. “It’s the belief that, together, we can inspire, unite, and elevate ourselves beyond what we thought possible. With ‘Why Do It?,’ we’re igniting that spark for a new generation, daring them to step forward with courage, trust in their own potential, and discover the greatness that unfolds the moment they decide to begin.”
Geddit? I don’t. Not really. When I was younger, I trusted in my own potential and—in rare moments of glorious self-delusion—thought I was a pretty good sportsman. Greatness, however, was never a possibility. Unlike the amazing array of talent supporting the new campaign—Carlos Alcaraz, Saquon Barkley, LeBron James, Rayssa Leal, Qinwen Zheng, and many more—I couldn’t have been a contender…
What’s undoubtedly true, however, is that the ‛Why Do It?’ ad is a dynamic and deeply questioning promotion. The simple joy of jogging epitomised in the 1998 ad is replaced by the excitement and intensity felt during the nerve-shredding key moments of basketball, football, baseball, tennis, diving, golf—and, believe it or not—cricket!
Why do it? Will it work?
Are Gen-Zers—and other potential Nike fans—curious enough to be interested in an existential question about their relationship to sport? If they stop long enough to ask themselves the question—which is what Nike must be banking on—then the campaign could work beautifully because the answers will often be personal and enlightening. They will reveal a lot about those who ask the question, about their views, their priorities, their health, and sporting aspirations.
It’s a good question! In today’s hectic, 24/7, digital world, finding time to achieve all our goals is hard. Very hard. Nike is challenging us all to examine what’s important. Do we play sport to win, take part, get fitter, get leaner, get faster, or make friends? Do we want to quit the time wasted doom-scrolling and dedicate it to building those abs instead? To achieve greater success—to be a champion—would we cancel a holiday, get up earlier, train harder, give up lie-ins, Big Macs, or Rolling Rock?
Nike, I presume, hopes the answer is yes… “The whole idea of ‘Why Do It?’ is about taking that first step and actually doing it,” Graham said. “We wanted to give voice to those doubts, but very clearly give an answer: do it and look what happens.”
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