Nike is one of the top selling athletic wear brands, and this company uses sports advertising to help better expand the marketing of their products.  The image I will analyze is a video advertisement that corresponds with Nike’s “What’s your motivation” from July of 2011.  This video argues that even when one is told to quit or is never noticed out on the sports field, this can be motivation to work even harder than ever before and to not give up until one has reached his/her dreams. This ad also encourages viewers to believe in themselves and conquer their fears.  The background of the first scene of the video is a dark room, with the only light being a clock counting down the minutes until morning. By focusing on a clock that reads 3am, it shows how people are sleeping at that time.  The main focus of this image is to show that dedication or motivation is difficult to keep at that time of night, when the majority of people are sleeping. The commercial moves on to show an empty street, basketball court and then a young boy lacing up his shoes getting ready for his training. Nike is able to successfully advertise their products in the commercial “What’s your Motivation” because of the appealing nature of colors shadows and perspectives in the ad. 

The use of color plays a big part in the emotion, intensity, and mood of the image. The image is focused at night with the color black and white, but instead of getting a sad or gloomy feeling like most images with these colors, this video conveys confidence and drive. White represents cleanliness and perfection; black is the color of power, elegance and mystery. The simplicity of the colors also subconsciously represents the simplicity of the theme – work hard, and that’s what matters. In most visual images, viewers’ eyes are immediately drawn to the color of something, but because this image does not have much color, viewers are able to focus on the whole image, from the background to the main story. By taking out these frivolous colors, viewers take away more from the theme and the empowering action of the athlete.  The background of an image can play a major role in getting the audience to see what the company wants them to see, and keeping the colors simple makes this easier to achieve.  

The beginning of this commercial starts in a black room with the only light coming from a clock on a bedside table. There is a blurry dark background before the audience notices the clock, understanding that the story takes place in someone’s bedroom.  Soon after the audience sees people sleeping in beds, and then the focus moves to an empty street and basketball court with its street and court lights on. These are important because showing that the street is empty and the court is empty show how motivated one has to be to get up on his/her own and go work towards reaching his/her goals. 

The icon of this image is the young boy.  Although he may not be as famous as LeBron James or Stephen Curry, he can still be an icon for the world’s youth.  Using someone not famous shows that a person does not need to be a famous athlete to wake up early and be determined to work.  If it were someone like LeBron James or Stephen Curry, the activity could be interpreted as something not everyone could do and viewers may lose the motivation to do it. This markets to many aspiring athletes, as it shows that “perfect” professionals are not the only consumers of Nike shoes. All athletes are able to wear these shoes, as skill level does not matter regarding determination. Or, this video could be motivation to viewers because most people want to play like Stephen Curry or LeBron James in basketball. This promotes the hard work that is needed to get to the professional basketball skill level, and that Nike’s as the basics of a practice, will help an aspiring athlete get there. Along with icons there any many symbols used in this commercial, like the clock, basketball, and the empty streets and courts. 

The average person at 3am is most likely to be sleeping, and so using that time of night is symbolic because it shows how determined one needs to be to either wake up before everyone or not go to sleep because one is more concerned with working towards his/her goals.  Many people believe basketball to be a team sport but a team is not needed to improve skills. By choosing basketball as the sport to use in this image, Nike portrays that an aspiring athlete does not need someone to help improve his/her game.  One of the lines from the commercial that really stands out is “What makes me is not what happens in the game but rather when no one is around.”  This is a symbolic line because most people would believe that if no one is there to see it then it didn’t really happen, and it only counts if one can do it in the game.  Motivation is someone’s personal drive to want more from him/herself, he/she achieving that goal alone at 3 am when no one is around, the same as achieving that goal before thousands of people in an arena.   

In the “What’s your motivation” ad from July of 2011, Nike is arguing the importance of finding one’s motivation to work out and get fit.  The company stresses this by using an icon of an average teenager to show that anyone can get out there and work out as long as they have the motivation.  Nike also uses a color scheme that emphases purity and power to emphasize the simplicity of the theme. There are many symbols used in this video that help to portray the overall meaning of the commercial, including the empty street, bedroom clock, basketball court, and Nike shoes themselves. Overall, the video emphasizes to aspiring athletes that with the right motivation (and Nike shoes), any type of athlete, from amateur to professional, needs to work hard to perform well, and it’s this perseverance that matters most.
