These were full page ads in SLAM, a basketball magazine. They are sequential ads that carry a very short message. They also appear on separate pages, so you'd have to flip the page in order to see the next one. It is a Nike ad, displaying their product the Nike Hyperdunk. Nike is as we all know the corporate monster of sports shoe of our lifetime that is also largely associated with sweat shop standards. I targeted Nike in my previous ad because it caught my attention, and again this ad, part of my personal "The Porcelain Tuba" Daily newspaper. Nike's surrounds me, so why not analyze it further.
I think the ad is trying to portray the shoe as hyper-inducing, athletic ability you will get by wearing these shoes that will allow you to discriminate your opponent. The image is very similar to the dunk Vince Carter had of the US had OVER (literally over) Frederic Weis of France in the 2000 Olympic match-up. Did I mention Monsieur Weis is 7'2"?! This is an iconic dunk that is known throughout hoops culture. So many bloggers, video posters, journalists, writers, and even those who comment on videos have touched on the discriminating power this dunk has on the defender. It has been called "le dunk le mort," meaning the dunk of death. When I say discriminating I mean, embarrassing. However there are all kinds of racial stereotypes that occur in sports. Frederic Weis is labelled as the stereotypical white 7 footer that plays basketball, slow, unathletic and uncoordinated. Nike avoids all the negative racial stereotypical comments that occurred after the Vince Carter dunk. F Nike avoids all this by using the same skin colour in the ad.
The text in the ad plays of the embarrassment of the dunk. The trashing talking text, "at least your mama still loves you... your girlfriend, your dad, your cousin , not so much," provides a comical attraction for their desired audience (all hoop heads). The page flipping to show the next scene and carry on the text also engages the reader, making the ad all the more memorable.
Other than that it is a relatively simple ad with a black background, putting focus on the dunk and dunk, leaving it up to you to imagine the location which would occur if were to wear the Hyperdunks!
I honestly like the look of the product (Nike Hyperdunks), I don't think I attribute that to the ad. As proof from this and last, post I am a sneaker head. The ad gives me a laugh, forces me to recall the Vince Carter dunk, and lets me envision myself in the situation. I think Nike did its job at getting me to remember its ad, push it into my head so Hyperdunk will ring in my head as I pass Footlocker or Champs.
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