Nike By Jose Campos

Nike Throughout its existence Nike has faced controversial and commercial success. The company started in the 1950’s when Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight decided to start their own line of shoes. They were unsatisfied with the running shoes at the time so they decided to make their own. Bill Bowerman started experimenting with materials to make better shoes and Phil Knight would sell them off the trunk of his car. As years passed the company grew bigger and soon became the largest sportswear company in the world. Nike would soon sponsor famous athletes such as Michael Jordan. Today Nike is working on making better shoes for their athletes.

Controversies In 1987, Apple records sued Nike for using the Beatles song “Revolution” on one of their advertisements. Nike paid $250,000 to Capitol Records for the right to use The Beatles songs on advertisements. Apple records did not like Nike using the song and soon sued Nike for $15 million. In 2004, an ad about LeBron James beating cartoon martial arts masters and slaying a Chinese dragon in martial arts offended Chinese authorities. The advertisement was later banned in China.

Success In 1984 Nike’s popularity grew when Michael Jordon started endorsing Nike. During this time Nike came up with a new shoe called Nike “Air” after Jordan’s nickname “Air Jordan”. Nike’s shoe sales increased incredibly during Michael Jordan’s basketball career. Nike has also won two Emmy Awards for having the commercial of the year once in 1990 and another in 2002. Nike now sponsors some of the world’s best athletes including: Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.

Future Today, Nike continues to seek new and innovative ways to develop superior athletic products. Nike is working on making their shoes the best athletic shoes in the world and wants to expand their company. They have introduced new ways to experience Nike such as Nike Free, Nike+ and Nike Sphere and Nike iD.

Alternative Perspectives An athlete that endorses Nike will say that Nike is a successful and great company because they have to support them. People that use Nike’s will also say that it is a great company because they use the shoes and they like them. However, if you are a shoemaker for Nike that earns a little bit of money and has awful working conditions you would say that they are a bad company that doesn’t care about their employees. Although Nike has been successful, it is your opinion to either like or dislike Nike for their methods of running the company.