A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
One of the world's most famous brands is getting a new slogan. Nike is turning its nearly 40-year-old tagline - just do it - into a question. Why do it?
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TYLER, THE CREATOR: Why chance it? Why put it on the line? With so much at stake, with so much room to fail, why risk it?
MARTÍNEZ: The company says greatness is a choice and that its new slogan is aimed at connecting with younger athletes. So will it succeed? Let's ask Brittaney Kiefer. She's a creative editor with the publication Adweek and has been tracking Nike's recent race to remain relevant. So, Brittaney, greatness is a choice. OK. Well, you spoke with the company about the bet they're making with this rebrand. What are they saying?
BRITTANEY KIEFER: Yeah, so just do it, like you said, it's been around since 1988. And it's shown up in different cultural contexts with different people, both ordinary humans and legendary athletes. But this time, Nike's speaking to young people. And they say that this generation is afraid of failure and, in some cases, they're afraid to even try. So that's why they need to subvert their slogan, which isn't going away completely, but asking young people, why even do it in the first place?
MARTÍNEZ: So it used to be like - when I'd, you know, put on a new pair of shoes, a new pair of sneakers, it'd be like, I want to go out and conquer the world. Now the sneakers are just to get you out of bed.
KIEFER: (Laughter) Yeah, basically. Just take that first step, and that can lead to greatness.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. So just do it, I know it came out in 1988. That's, like, kind of Gen Xers' coming-out-of-age territory right there. And I'll admit it kind of speaks to this no-nonsense, get your - get-over-yourself attitude. What does why do it tap into, you think?
KIEFER: Well, as the Nike CMO, Nicole Graham, told me, it's tapping into - it's kind of giving voice to a doubt that a lot of young people feel about whether they should even try to achieve anything. And really, it's about redefining those three words for young people who may not get its relevance and its power in the same way as previous generations.
MARTÍNEZ: Why try to achieve anything? I got to admit, Brittaney, this is kind of making me a little worried. These are the people that are going to be taking care of me when, you know, I'm 70 or 80 years old.
KIEFER: (Laughter) Yeah, they are - they've been dubbed the anxious generation. But really, I think what Nike isn't saying explicitly is that they are obsessed with trying to remain relevant and get young people to believe in their legacy in the same way that older people may - like yourself, may still believe in it.
MARTÍNEZ: So how do you think it's played so far, this why-do-it slogan?
KIEFER: I've seen mixed reactions on social media. Some people are kind of pointing out that it alludes to a bit of weakness, I guess, a lack of confidence. And other people found the ad really powerful. It has a lot of new-generation athletes in it, and each of them - instead of showing them in their moment of glory, it's showing them in that moment where they decide to take a risk.
MARTÍNEZ: How will Nike know if this is working?
KIEFER: Well, Nike's been in the middle of this brand turnaround and this race to kind of remain relevant. So they've revamped their strategy, and what's really going to show if it's working is in the numbers. They're a big ship to turn around, so we may not see a jump in sales immediately. But ultimately, what will pay off is, are the cool kids on the street corner wearing Nike? Are they talking about Nike on social media? And that's how we'll know if it's worked.
MARTÍNEZ: Brittaney Kiefer is a creative editor at Adweek. Brittaney, thanks.
KIEFER: Thank you.
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