Rhetorical Analysis Of Nike’S Advertisement Write The Future

“Just Do it, ” three words that are connected to the entirety of the Nike Empire. As one of the most popular athletic clothing lines, Nike never fails to demonstrate strong and motivational images and ads for all its viewers. The advertisements of the company are directed toward promoting new merchandise, mainly shoes, but they also like to focus on giving people motivation to strive for their goals. In this case it’s all about being a legend and never being forgotten, they are bringing up an ideology and trying to make their audience feel like Ronaldo and in turn buy their products and wear the best gear in the world.

“The Moment Lasts a Second. The Legend Lasts Forever, ” is all about how the moment lasts a second but it is that moment that makes the legend last forever. Ads come in all shapes and sizes, they can be informative and meant to inform the user on the product and they can also be used for branding, Nike is a very well known brand. They use their ads to brand and for promotional purposes and they use their ads to give a sense of winning among sports lovers and in doing so they shine a spotlight on their products to help them push their products. Their ads engage the viewers to think at both levels, the product and their sponsors. They are engaging because they don’t only push the product but they also give the viewer a sense of winning for the brand and sports.

The image shows Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2010 Fifa World Cup in front of their opponent brazil and in the top left corner it reads “The moment lasts a second. The Legend Lasts forever. ” First looking at the text, it shows a type of heroicness following and importance ahead of his team and him for the rest of the cup (for a little background he ends up making the goal and it advances them to the final round where the ultimately win the cup against the Netherlands 0-1). The message basically conveys, that to many people a couple seconds of time can be such a critical moment for his career and the future, essentially a butterfly effect on how a couple seconds triggers a never ending status of “legend. ” The image is taken from behind the wall of players defending their goal with Ronaldo standing over the ball for a free kick and together with the text, shows how important that moment in that mans soccer career is and what the audience was experiencing at the time. Ronaldo is inside of a full stadium behind the ball ready to make his move with thousands of fans cheering him on and supporting the other team. The only difference between all of the other players and Ronaldo is that he is made of stone, like a statue. Many other soccer players have had statues made of them like Pele and Sir Alex Ferguson in the past because of the “Legendary” statues they achieved in their time playing soccer, this implies that he has already made the kick and has achieved that status all of the past legends have achieved. For a nike ad, they are not selling a product but instead they are selling the sponsored player giving the audience the want to wear the gear that the best players in the world wear –and in that way selling the product. Everyone has that kid inside of us that saws “well if he is the best player in soccer and I wear the same cleats as him I can become a better player. ”

All advertisements have something in common, they all use rhetoric to create an appeal. There are three types of rhetoric: ethos, logos and pathos; ethos meaning ethical, pathos meaning emotional and logos meaning logical and this add uses all of them to an extent. The ad uses Cristiano Ronaldo a name trusted around the world for Ethos, a very well known name in the world of soccer to create trust him also standing in front of the wall of players shows his determination in the eyes of thousands of fans to get the ball over it and into the back of the net, something a lot of people would love to experience. Next the ad uses Pathos to add emotional appeal, the advertisement highlights the thrill and emotion that takes place in the game. The thrill of the crowd and that joy of being the legend in the making is all shown in the ad. Finally, Logos is the logical appeal. Usually you will not see a direct correlation between brands and the athletes they sponsor because they are just the face for the product the brand is trying to promote. The ad is used for branding specifically and to follow your dreams/just do it.

The main message Nike is trying to promote here is that dreamers in sports can get to where they want to be if they use the energy from the ads to push them forward and to prove to them that everything is possible as long as you put the effort into it. The logic really shows when you compare fan and that star’s energy and love for the sport. This ad really stands out to anyone who is a soccer fan and how they can relate to a time where they probably played in the past or is playing now. The technique that really makes the picture stand out is having Ronaldo made into a marble statue unlike the rest of the players making him different than everyone else as a “Legend. ”

The intention of the ad is to promote the player- an ideology, giving their audience to feel that they want to be like Ronaldo and in that way buying their products. I am going to quote the Gladiator in relationship with the ad, “What we do in our life, echoes throughout eternity” this means that in one moment, one action, can play a larger significance than ever thought possible. And maybe, with the inclusion of Nike’s new super cool and advanced soccer cleats (not advertised) viewers/audiences can achieve that. Nike here is not selling the product, but instead are selling the experience and to achieve that experience you have to use their products and as they say “Just Do It. ”