Nike

Nike is known to be the winged goddess of victory according to Greek mythology. She sat at the side of Zeus, the ruler of the Olympic pantheon, in Olympus. A mystical presence, symbolizing victorious encounters, Nike presided over history's earliest battlefields. A Greek would say, "When we go to battle and win, we say it is Nike." Synonymous with honored conquest, Nike has also become the twentieth century footwear that lifts the world's greatest athletes to new levels of mastery and achievement. The Nike 'swoosh' embodies the spirit of the winged goddess who inspired the most courageous and chivalrous warriors at the dawn of civilization.

The Swoosh Logo

The Nike Swoosh logo is a graphic design created by Caroline Davidson in 1971. It represents the wing of the Greek Goddess Nike. Caroline Davidson was a student at Portland State University in advertising. She met Phil Knight while he was teaching accounting classes and she started doing some freelance work for his company. Phil Knight asked Caroline to design a logo that could be placed on the side of a shoe. She handed him the Swoosh, earning her $35.00. In spring of 1972, the first shoe with the Nike Swoosh was introduced, and the rest is history.

If Nike didn't start the fitness revolution, it is said that they were "at least right there. And we sure rode it for one hell of a ride" (Katz, 66). The 1980s and 1990s would yield greater and greater profits as Nike began to assume the appearance of athletic juggernaut, rather than the underdog of old. "Advertising Age" named Nike the 1996 Marketer of the Year, citing the "ubiquitous swoosh...was more recognized and coveted by consumers than any other sports brand--arguably any brand" (Jensen, 12/96). That same year, Nike's revenues rised to a staggering $6.74 billion. Expecting $8 billion sales in fiscal 1997, Nike has targeted $12 billion in sales by the dawn of the new millenium.

 

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