Make Nike, not War

In the words of TEAM USA TRACK Olympic coach, Bill Bowerman, "there is more honor in outrunning a man than in killing him." He delivered this statement to his team (which Steve Prefontaine, pictured in the commercial, was a part of) upon the killing of Jewish athletes during the Munich Summer Olympics. He urged his runners not to think their events frivolous in the face of such hateful violence, but to approach them with a renewed vigour and sense of purpose. In the same spirit in the uniting, human nature of sport Nike has employed pathos to connect with the human side of athletics.

Trying to sell all of their products, Nike has shown clips from nearly every sport imaginable, from Michael Jordan's basketball highlights, to Olympic hurdling. The song chosen is, "All These Things that I've Done," by The Killers. The energized track emphasizes the qualities admired in a soldier, specifically courage is emphasized, but the athletes are shown to be courageous in their nonviolence. Athletics is shown to be a uniting force to humanity across all cultures in its pain, displayed by Lance Armstrong lying in the hospital alongside gored bullfighters, and its glory. Sport is made to be a celebration of life and what makes us all people is that desire to hunt, to conquer, and to achieve without the bloodshed made in war. The montage of animal imagery reminds us of ancient times when finding dinner often meant running it into the ground. Many sub-four minute milers claim to experience the same type of exhilaration as flying through the jungle, chasing prey. Lifes a game so don't just sit there! Get up and go do it, and don't forget to buy NIKE!