One need only hear the title of the 'Nike Ugly' lookbook to know that it takes a very different approach to advertising than most apparel campaigns.
While most clothing and shoe companies aim to placate and woo their target market with flattery and promises of a happy days with their oh-so-wonderful product, this Nike lookbook makes it clear to its audience that running is not pretty. It makes a person sweaty, haggard and tired. These usually are not thought of as appealing qualities, yet Nike embraces them.
The lookbook features art from Tim Cairns, was written by Tim Green and typography and design from Niels Nolta. All their efforts combine to produce an bold and memorable promotion that actually appeals to what runners want: quality footwear designed to help them exert themselves and get ugly, so to speak.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Authentic-imperfection Advertising
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Embrace the imperfect aspects of products or services in advertising to appeal to a niche market.
- Reality-branding
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create advertising campaigns that highlight the real experiences and challenges that consumers face.
- Bold-messaging
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Use bold and straightforward messages in advertising to stand out and capture attention.
Where This Applies
- Athletic Footwear
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop sneakers that prioritize functionality and performance over aesthetics.
- Sports Apparel
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Design athletic clothing that embraces the physical demands and challenges athletes experience.
- Advertising and Marketing
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Offer unconventional advertising strategies that depart from traditional flattery and instead focus on authenticity and reality.
