August 17, 2005
It’s officially a trend. First, Dove used real women for its Campaign for Real Beauty ads (www.campaignforrealbeauty.com). Now there’s Nike with its brand spankin’ new Nike Women (www.nikewomen.com) campaign – complete with J. Lo butts, less than ladylike knees, and linebacker shoulders. Suddenly, real women are the “it” girls.
The copy is bold and freshly humorous. The “big butt” ad reads:
“My Butt is big and round like the letter C, and 10,000 lunges have made it rounder, but not smaller. And that’s just fine. It’s a space heater for my side of the bed. It’s my ambassador. To those who walk behind me, it’s a border collie that herds skinny women away from the best deals at clothing sales. My butt is big and that’s just fine. And those who might scorn it are invited to kiss it. Just do it.”
I love it!
Gloria Steinem, the noted feminist activist, wonders “if Nike would do an ad about a man talking about his butt.” Well, Nike? Get your ad agency right on that one. Let’s make butt-discussion an equal opportunity ad concept.
Nike’s US Ad Director said of the new campaign “Women come in all shapes and sizes, which is no surprise, but when you talk to women in an honest way, they respond.”
And that, my friends, is the secret to Dove’s success and the success the new Nike campaign will undoubtedly enjoy.
How honest and authentic are your communications? How real is the language? The reality presented? If it’s not “10,000 lunges have made it rounder, but not smaller. And that’s just fine” honest, then maybe it’s not quite there yet.
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