Nike NFL 2012 contract

Seven major apparel partners will start new contracts with the NFL on Sunday, April 1. On Monday, April 2, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will cut the ribbon and ring up the first sale as the league opens an NFL pop-up shop in Manhattan to herald the launch of its new apparel deals. Finally, on Tuesday, April 3, in Brooklyn, Nike will unveil all 32 team NFL jerseys at an invitation-only event. The NFL chose Nike after 10 years with Reebok.

In addition to Nike and New Era, Under Armour will continue as the official sponsor of the NFL Scouting Combine; GIII will continue manufacturing fan gear, including outerwear and lifestyle collections for men and women; VF will remain an apparel partner manufacturing fan gear, including T-shirts and fleece; Outerstuff will continue as the NFL's youth-apparel provider; and "47 Brand will produce headwear for fans.

According to several executives with knowledge of the deal that was finalized in October 2010, Nike is paying between $1 billion and $1.5 billion for its five-year agreement to be the league's official uniform and on-field apparel provider, as well as to produce sideline-personnel apparel and fan gear.

Nike is already benefiting. The league's No. 1 endorser, Peyton Manning, and the No. 2 jersey-seller last year, Tim Tebow, changed teams last week, meaning fans will have to shell out for fresh gear. With this huge new deal, Nikes advertising and introduction with certainly be something to look forward to. As rumor has it that Nike could make back half of its investment in the first year of the contract.

Nike Giants Uniform concept 

Classic Nike Advertising tactic

Nike is one of the more celebrated exponents of ambush marketing. Much to the embarrassment of London marathon sponsors, Asics,  Nike purchased every bus stop poster site around the marathon course and ran unofficial advertisements featuring a disabled competitor at the 1997 marathon. The result of this was that the organizers of London City Marathon had to set up the angle of every camera recording the event in a manner that not one single Nike poster could be seen by the TV audience viewing the event. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Nike set up a “Nike Village” opposite the Olympic Athlete’s village, they handed out Nike merchandise to spectators entering the event and bought up most of the advertising space in the city of Atlanta. This activity was to the huge detriment of the official sponsor of the games which was Reebok.

Nike is in the process of building a 9,182 square foot store in the London Designer Outlet, which is situated close to Wembley Stadium, which is a venue that will be hosting Olympic events. Although the store is not going to open until 2013, development will have progressed enough by the time the Olympics commence to display prominent Nike signage.

Book Selection

I decided to purchase Pick Me : Breaking Into Advertising and Staying There by Nancy Vonk.


The book informs you about advertising being a fantastic industry. but actually getting a job (or even your foot in the door) can seem next to impossible. Whether you're a student or a young professional loaded with questions, this one-of-a-kind guide shows you how to land a job and how to thrive once you're in and the pressure is on.

Authors Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin are seasoned creative directors and longtime creative partners. In Pick Me, these industry leaders answer your toughest ad career questions, like:

• Is advertising right for me?
• How do I build a killer portfolio?
• How do I get an interview with the elusive creative director?
• Should I accept an unpaid internship?
• How do I find the right partner?
• How do I beat creative block?
• How do I avoid burnout?

Fourteen industry superstars share their insights and explain how they broke into the business. You'll hear from Bob Barrie, Rick Boyko, David Droga, Mark Fenske, Neil French, Sally Hogshead, Mike Hughes, Shane Hutton, Brian Millar, Tom Monahan, Chuck Porter, Bob Scarpelli, Chris Staples, and Lorraine Tao.

Nike has become such an established company that it has changed they way their ads are launched and run. This makes a great company to have a career with. Just try to recall the last couple of Nike commercials you saw on television. Don't be surprised when you can't. Nike's spending on TV and print advertising in the U.S. has dropped by 40% in just three years, even as its total marketing budget has steadily climbed upward to hit a record $2.4 billion last year. "There's barely any media advertising these days for Nike," says Brian Collins, a brand consultant and longtime Madison Avenue creative executive.

 Gone is the reliance on top-down campaigns celebrating a single hit -- whether a star like Tiger Woods, a signature shoe like the Air Force 1, or send-ups like Bo Jackson's 'Bo Knows' commercials from the late '80s that sold the entire brand in one fell Swoosh. In their place is a whole new repertoire of interactive elements that let Nike communicate directly with its consumers, whether it's a performance-tracking wristband, a 30-story billboard in Johannesburg that posts fan headlines from Twitter, or a major commercial shot by an Oscar-nominated director that makes its debut not on primetime television but on Facebook.  

The reason for the shift is simple: Nike is going where its customer is. And its core customer, a 17-year-old who spends 20% more on shoes than his adult counterparts, has given up television to skip across myriad online communities. Not only does Nike think it can do without the mega-TV campaigns of old, it says the digital world allows the brand to interact even more closely with its consumers -- maybe as closely as it did in its early days, when founder Phil Knight sold track shoes out of his car in the 1960s. That's a major change, Nike CEO Mark Parker explained toFortune during a recent interview.

Nike explores Europe in more detail

Thanks to Nike, AKQA’s Parisian dream is coming true. Adweek’s 2011 Digital Agency of the Year is opening an office in the Saint Germain quarter of the city, fueled by new business from the sports brand, a client of 12 years, and the shop’s largest.

AKQA will be Nike France’s key digital agency, and will be geared toward helping better tap into the country’s booming e-commerce and smartphone markets. That will include work around the brand’s sponsorship of the national soccer team, announced early last year, and projects for the upcoming European Football Championships that will take place in June. This was a great move made by Nike, the team realized they should help AKQA expand into a market they would like to reach. It seems very efficient to help the company that has help Nike expand in the last 12 years. Tapping into more European Football will help Nike and AKQA on understanding and relating with their targeted 

consumers on a more detailed level.

 AKQA's Tom Bedecarre, Ajaz Ahmed, James Hilton, Nicolai Smith and Peter Lund

Manchester United Nike Football Ad 

Nike MAGs

Nike has announced that they will be auctioning off 1,500 pairs of the Nike MAG self-lacing shoe, the same shoe worn by Marty McFly in Back to the Future II. The shoes will be auctioned off on eBay to support the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research. They went all out in advertising the charity effort in the detailed ad starring Kevin Durant, Bill Hader, Christopher Lloyd, Tinker Hatfield and Donald Fullilove. Doc utters his trademark "Great Scott" like he must in every commercial that references Back to the Future. Their they should both shoes with its functions, such as its infamous glowing lights. The whole effort is wittily called "Back 4 the Future." Michael J. Fox also appeared on a seperate ad explaining the campaign and details how the bids on these shoes would contribute to the foundation. Fox finishes off with a warm thank you on the behave of the foundation, Nike, eBay, and the 5 million people living with Parkinson's.

Troubling tweets

Two British touists were banned from entering the United States after joking on Twitter about “destroying America”. 

Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Bunting’s Twitter feeds were monitored by US special agents who also took exception to a comment about “digging up Marilyn Monroe”

Upon the pair’s arrival in LA, where they hoped to spend a three-week holiday, they were held by armed guards, questioned for five hours on suspicion of planning to “commit crimes” and then put in cells overnight.

Despite explaining he had used the term “destroy” as slang for partying, and insisting the Tweet about Marilyn Monroe was a joke, the pair were put on a flight back to Britain the next day.

They were also searched for shovels, after border agents voiced suspicions Bunting would act as a look-out while Van Bryan raided the Hollywood starlet’s tomb.

It's frightening and reassuring at the same time on how close internet post are looked at by our government and how quickly they can act on a suspicion.

See tweets bellow