History of Nike: The Story of the Swooshing Shoes

When talking about fast, sturdy, reliable, comfortable, and fashionable footwear, Nike is the first name that comes to our minds. No matter how old this brand is, Nike never failed to keep itself up with the trends. It has always kept up with the industry. 

The history of Nike brings up many interesting stories.

Many of us are curious to hear the tales of this shoe brand. What is its driving force? How did it succeed? If you are a fan of Nike, we dedicate this article to your excitement. 

How was Nike Established?

The history of Nike dates back to when the company was known as Blue Ribbon Sports. The company aimed to provide high-quality, affordable shoes to athletes. However, it had to do this without compromising the quality of the shoes. This idea was put forward first by Phil Knight, who brought together his knowledge of business and passion for sports and published a thesis on the production of shoes. Phil believed that the production costs of the sports shoes worn by athletes could significantly drop if the production center transferred from Germany to Japan. 

His paper, Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras? Can be recorded as the start of the successful history of Nike. But how was the price of these sports shoes reduced? 

Phil wanted to use the cheap labor available in Japan to generate profits. He emphasized the reduced manufacturing costs of sports shoes and shifted their production to Japan. Phil utilized this opportunity to manufacture and import good quality sports shoes at an affordable price.

When Student and Teacher Joined Hands 

The efforts of Phil Knight met the magical innovations of Bill Bowerman, his coach, who used to modify off-shell shoes to customize them for the athletes. BRS cracked a deal with the Japanese Onitsuka Tiger company that manufactured the Tiger marathon shoes. Phil started selling these sports shoes from his car. Blue Ribbon Sports sold 1,300 Japanese running shoes in the inaugural year. BRS opened its first physical retail store in Santa Monica, California, in 1966.

The deal between Blue Ribbon Sports and Onitsuka Tiger generated some remarkable profits but did not generate a reliable tie of friendly partnership. There were constant sparks between both companies. In 1971, the tension between them increased. The latter sought to acquire BRS through an ultimatum proposal, aiming to secure a controlling 51 percent stake in the American company. The partnership between Onitsuka Tiger and Blue Ribbon Company broke, marking a significant event in the history of Nike.

Rebranding to Swosh, the True History of Nike:

Bowerman, the man behind the innovative shoes, shall always be remembered in the history of Nike. He got a bit creative in 1971 and decided to try something new with rubber using a waffle iron. Why? Bowerman wanted to make a super grippy sole for track shoes that did not weigh down the runners.

The track at Oregon’s Hayward Field was changing. He needed shoes that could handle grass or bark dust without needing spikes. So, Bowerman came up with the idea of using the waffle iron pops to produce the soul of the shoes.

His experiment paid off big time in the history of Nike. In 1972, he came up with the idea of Moon Shoe. The shoes were named after looking at the waffle pattern that looked like astronaut footprints on the moon. Then, in 1974, he made it even better with the Waffle Trainer. And guess what? These shoes were a hit, helping Nike explode onto the scene. These moon shoes and various innovations gave Blue Ribbon Sports a competitive market edge.

The Iconic Name and Logo

A lot of interesting rebranding stories come up from Nike’s history. 

• First is the story of how Nike was named. Phil Knight almost renamed Nike as Dimension 6. As appropriate and meaningful as this name sounded, nothing could beat the name Nike— suggested by one of the employees, Jeff Johnson. The name of the company was inspired by the winged Greek goddess of Victory, Goddess Nike. She is always portrayed as the winged victor. One, who is in the motion of flight. Nike is known to bless her worshipers with victory, the goal revered by the athletes.

• Another interesting story that fans come up with from the history of Nike is the story of the Swoosh logo. Carolyn Davidson designed the first logo for this brand for a mere fee of 35$. The first design was simple curved lines that looked like the borders of the logo that we see today. The company’s symbol got a makeover with a strong, thicker design in 1978. Here is where the company added a new wordmark using Davidson’s tweaked Futura Bold font, too.

• By 1985, it tweaked the logo again by adding a square around the wordmark and emblem and introducing the primary red color.

• Nike simplified things later, in 1995, by ditching the wordmark and box, and sticking with just the Swoosh logo, which has been its logo ever since.

History of Nike behind – Just Do It:

In the world of infinite brands- “Just Do It” is considered one of the most iconic catchphrases ever produced. Wieden+Kennedy, an American global advertising agency, crafted the tagline of Nike. This slogan acts as the key driver in many successful stories, but little do people know the inspiration behind this tagline. 

This tagline was created by the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, inspired by the final words of convicted murderer Gary Gilmore—let’s do it. These last words by Garry inspired Wieden and Kennedy to craft one of the most compelling taglines in the history of marketing.

History of Nike and its Celebrities:

Nike is the brand of Lebron James, Tiger Woods, and Michael Jordan. We find so many collaborations if we break down the history of Nike. In 1978,

Blue Ribbon Sports became Nike, and people started winning big while wearing its shoes.

Jon Anderson showcased a stellar performance in the Boston Marathon, Jimmy Conners aced the

Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and Henry Rono smashed four track and field records – all in Nike! The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers were getting in on the action. The sales and profits of Nike were doubling every single year.

The history of Nike has also witnessed multiple collaborations with many treasured sportsmen and celebrities. The need for advertising and indispensable for promotion were the key ideas behind all these endorsements.

The Secret Behind Nike’s Success

Nike was looked at as a production-oriented company for numerous years after its inception. However, the company later decided to grow itself as an advertising and promotion-oriented company. Why?

Nike believes that product marketing is one of its core competencies. When it comes to Nike, it is all about marketing.

But is Nike all about ads? No, the real star of the show is their products. But not everything is made in a lab and the company has wrapped its head around that fact. The popular shoe brand understands that understanding its consumers and reaching out to them is of the utmost importance. The failure of the casual shoes emphasized the key niche of the brand. Its innovation, athlete-centered production, and marketing have raised above all odds writing golden words of success in the history of Nike.

Before You Run to Buy a Nike:

Nike is undeniably a choice preferred by millions of people worldwide. Children, working class, athletes, and even the aged people can comfortably call Nike their preference. The history of Nike is a witness to its success story.