Nike's 'Just do it' slogan inspired by convicted killer's last words

An American killers last words before facing a firing squad were "Let's do it"

The man behind one of the most well-known brand taglines, Nike’s “Just Do It”, has revealed that the slogan was actually inspired by the last words of an infamous murderer.

Advertising executive Dan Wieden, who came up with the slogan three decades ago, ‘confessed’ in an interview that it was inspired by Gary Gilmore, an American man awarded the death penalty in 1977 for killing two men after depriving them of their valuables.

 



Utah killer Gary Gilmore, the one behind Nike's slogan. PHOTO: The Independent

 

Wieden maintained that it was in 1988 when he recalled the words and called for a little alteration, which appeared in the iconic brand’s advertisement,  with an appearance by Walt Stack, an 80-year-old runner.

Interestingly, Nike did not like the idea at all but when the slogan was debuted in the TV commercial, it was the beginning of a new era for Nike, Wieden added.

Worried about a series of five commercials lacking cohesion, the advertising executive convinced others that the “Just Do It” slogan would bring uniformity in the series.

“We came up with five different 30 second spots. The night before [a meeting with Nike] I got concerned because… there wasn't an overlying sensibility to them all. Some were funny, some were solemn. So I thought 'we need a tagline to pull this stuff together’,” he said.

 



A traditional Nike shoe on the display. PHOTO: The Independent

 

“I wrote about four or five ideas. I narrowed it down to the last one, which was “Just do it”. The reason I did that one was funny because I was recalling a man in Portland… He murdered a man and a woman, and was put before a firing squad. They asked him if he had any final thoughts and he said: ‘Let's do it.’"

Weiden continued: "And for some reason I went: ‘Now damn. How do you ask for an ultimate challenge that you are probably going to lose, but you call it in?’ So I thought, well, I didn't like ‘Let’s do it’ so I just changed it to ‘Just do it’.”

Wieden, who worked as a co-founder of advertising agency Wieden & Kennedy, has the credit of bringing in something that made the brand extremely popular in the sporting world, from ordinary men and women buyers to professional sportsmen.

In the 80s, Nike was at loggerheads with Reebok regarding the control of the sneakers market.

The Just Do It slogan enabled Nike launch a counter-attack on the main rival who had declared bigger profits than the former.

 

The story was originally published in The Independent