Friday, October 28, 2011

The Power of Words/Ideas

Just Do It
Nike's famous Just Do It campaign came from the execution of Gary Gilmore.  His last words were Let's do it.  Wieden and Kennedy found inspiration from this and created the entire Just Do It campaign, which made Nike one of the most well-known companies around.  I can remember how big this campaign slogan was when I was in elementary and middle school.  We would always walk around daring each other to do things and saying, "Just do it, just do it!"  It became an everyday term for people who came into contact with these advertisements.  Since the late 80s when this campaign started, shirts and posters and anything else you can think of have been made using this slogan for something else.  My favorite is a shirt my friend has that says, "Oh, that?  Just did it." 

Got Milk?
Got Milk? is another extremely well-known campaign.  Goodby Silverstein & Partners came up with this after a long struggle.  They had the image, but couldn't decide on a slogan.  Someone suggested this and everyone fought it because it's only two words - not even a sentence.  Finally, people realized how perfect this short slogan is, and the campaign took off in the early 90s.  This slogan gained more attention for milk sales and they raised almost immediately.  Everywhere you look, let it be a school cafeteria, TV, or a magazine, you will see a Got Milk? ad.  There are some that feature historical events, celebrities, cows, etc. but they all feature those words in large print somewhere on the advertisement.  Since the creation of this slogan, there has been an explosion of Got _______?  merchandise.  When I went to Switzerland, I bought a shirt that says, "Forget milk.  Got beer?"  This campaign tagline is literally everywhere you look in today's society, even if it's not advertising milk.

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