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Tyler Loveridge

Emily Litle

ENG 121001

5th March 2023

How Nike Can Unlock Your Destiny

The FIFA World Cup is commonly referred to as the most prestigious sporting

tournament in the world. Taking place quadrennially, the football tournament consists of 32

countries from across the globe. In the recent 2022 World Cup in Qatar, FIFA claimed that

around 1.5 billion people tuned in to watch the final live on television. As such, it is arguably

the biggest stage for brands to showcase themselves to the world through the form of media

advertisements. One company that has taken advantage of this on multiple occasions is Nike.

In anticipation of the 2010 World FIFA Cup, director Alejandro González Iñárritu produced a

three-minute video for Nike that would rewrite the standard for successive football

commercials. Titled “Write the Future”, the advertisement utilized the principles of ethos,

pathos, and logos as well as the use of various visual features to target viewers of the World

Cup. As such, the target audience for this ad is individuals who watch football, play football,

or both. This Nike advertisement employs the three rhetorical principles to persuade the

audience that through the use of Nike clothing and equipment, you too can be the author of

your own future.

Since it is three minutes long, the commercial consists of multiple different images

and settings. The ad focuses on stars from multiple prominent footballing countries, with

names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Ronaldinho Gaúcho appearing

throughout. Each of these players is pictured in certain make-or-break moments where they

are writing their future, hence the title. An example of this type of scenario occurs with
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Wayne Rooney. At the start of his segment, he is pictured in a tense situation; there is one

minute left in the game, and fans from across England are glued to the screen. However, he

makes a misguided pass and it gets intercepted by an individual on the opposing team. At that

moment, the consequences of his failures flash before his eyes, with posters of him burnt and

torn down, riots in the streets of England, and him now living in a trailer park. The bleakness

of his situation is enhanced using colors and shades. Gone are the days when he is surrounded

by vibrant colors and light, with a dark greyness now the prominent color. However, this all

turns around when he sees a billboard of the player Frank Ribery, the individual who

intercepted his pass. A fire visibly begins to burn in his eyes and the camera pans toward the

segment on the billboard that says, “Just Do It”. Suddenly, he is back in the heat of the game,

and we watch as he makes the tackle to save England from losing. The mood immediately

changes, as we see him being knighted by the queen, countless babies being named Wayne

and the people of England rejoicing.

The author employs Ethos ideals to add credibility to this advertisement. The first way

they do this is by displaying the Nike symbol, company name, and famous slogan “Just Do

It” multiple times throughout the video. Nike is a multi-billion-dollar company, and due to

their prominence in many people’s lives, the audience can easily acknowledge the brand as

being reputable. Asides from well-known brands, another method companies use to increase

the credibility of their advertisements is through celebrities. The use of world-renowned

football players such as Cristiano Ronaldo instantly adds to this aspect. Furthermore, with

non-footballing athletes such as Kobe Bryant appearing in the advertisement, audience

members who may not be as knowledgeable in relation to football players are still positioned

to acknowledge the brand’s integrity. By seeing athletes that they idolize and respect endorse

Nike, the audience is positioned to believe that by wearing Nike-branded gear, maybe they

can replicate the heroic feats of their idols.

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The Nike advertisement appeals to pathos through the use of color, as well as the

storylines of numerous football players. The main effect that manipulation of color has on the

audience is a change in mood. This can be seen in the opening moment of the video, where

we are immediately transported pitch side into a massive stadium. Not only is the magnitude

of the occasion felt due to the sheer number of fans, but the numerous bright and blinding

lights that fill up the screen make the audience feel as if they are witnessing something

momentous. The players’ moods in the advertisement are also highlighted using color. An

example is when Wayne Rooney is experiencing visions of the future, both of anguish and

happiness. The negative mood is represented through various grayscale scenes, with the sky

and ground consistently muddy, cloudy, and bleak. In contrast, periods of happiness are

shown through blue skies and vibrant sunlight. Of the four storylines which the advertisement

showcases to the audience, Wayne Rooney’s is the only one that depicts hardships. By

witnessing him in scenarios such as living in a caravan park and marking the lines at a low-

league football club, it removes the celebrity factor surrounding him for a brief moment. This

gives audience members the chance to compare their situation to his. Thus, as the

advertisement goes on and he turns it all around to become a national hero, it forces the

audience to beg the question, ‘well if he can do it, why can’t I?’

By appealing to Logos in this advertisement, the author aims to position the audience

that individuals who wear Nike equipment are able to write their own future. This is primarily

done through the use of camera angles. Asides from cutscenes and brief moments of focus on

the crowd, the perspective of the advertisement is taken at ground level. Thus, they are given

the viewpoint of what it would be like to be playing in a World Cup match. This provides the

audience the ability to fully immerse themselves in the content of the advertisement, and they

can therefore picture themselves out there fulfilling their dream of being a football star. By
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subjecting the audience to this immense sense of realism, it forces them to question whether

the only thing left between them and achieving their dreams is simply the use of Nike gear.

Through implementing the elements of ethos, pathos, and logos throughout this Nike

advertisement, the author positions the audience to reflect on their own dreams for the future

and how the use of Nike equipment can potentially help them on that journey. The prominent

celebrity presence in the advertisement, from non-footballing and footballing backgrounds

alike, allows the audience to buy into the authenticity of the Nike brand. Humans love to

follow in the footsteps of their idols. This is certainly the case when it comes to sports-related

gear, and the author takes full advantage of this in the Nike advertisement. The use of visual

effects, such as color and camera perspective, positions the audience to associate Nike with

positive emotions and intentions. The collective use of these rhetorical principles forces the

audience to beg the question – is the only thing between them and achieving their football

dreams a simple pair of Nike boots?

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Reference List

STEVENSON, SETH. The Greatest Ad I’ve Ever Seen. 6 June 2010. 5 March 2023.
<https://slate.com/business/2010/06/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu-s-epic-witty-wonderful-
world-cup-ad-for-nike.html>.
Summerscales, Robert. FIFA World Cup Final Beat Super Bowl LVI By More Than One BILLION
Viewers In TV Ratings. 18 January 2023. 5 March 2023.
<https://www.si.com/fannation/soccer/futbol/news/how-fifa-world-cup-final-beat-super-bowl-
lvi-in-tv-ratings>.