Why Did Nike Do It?

A more persuasive argument for the new slogan is that this is not a new slogan at all. Rather, Nike is temporarily playing with the existing “Just Do It” phrase by turning it to “Why Do It?” because that’s what brands do when assets reach maturity.

Even the biggest brands have a limited palette of distinctive assets to paint their presence across the market. By using these assets—logos, slogans, pantones etc—judiciously and repeatedly across all tactical activities, marketers ensure that their brand is salient in store, or during an ad, or while surfing the web. 

That’s crucial because for all the talk of purpose, culture and influence, consumers aren’t really paying that much attention. 

And if your brand does not come to mind, all is lost. 

Icon or relic?

The initial role for distinctive assets—at least for the first few decades of their existence—is to make consumers think of the brand. That might seem obvious but it’s probably the single biggest sin of most American marketers whose complexity, ambition and creativity obscure the more fundamental challenge of ensuring consumers know that it’s you.

But as brands age and their distinctive assets acquire iconic status this challenge evolves. Brands like Nike face the additional test of not only coming to mind but also not looking old and dusty when they do. Everybody recognises icons, but they also revere them in way that celebrates their past more than their future.

It’s here that well established distinctive assets present mature brands with an opportunity for an all-important magic trick. When brands invert or temporarily alter their iconic assets the whole market notices. Headlines are made. Consumers do a cognitive double take. And in changing the brand asset the market recognises the original for its heritage while also seeing the new version and its emphasis on modernity.