1. JUST DOING IT:
An Explorative Study of Collective Brand
Relationships within A Postmodern Marketplace

2. The Agenda
 Summary of findings
 New route: The cultural brand perspective:
 Brands as icons
 The marketplace as a myth market
 The relationship between Nike and culture:
 Reinventing the American Dream
 Nike’s role in today’s myth market
 The future: Anti-branding

3. Summary of Findings
Problem statement
“This thesis explores how the collective relationships
between NBRO Running and Nike manifest themselves at
the communal level, and which symbolic meanings members
of NBRO Running ascribe to those relationships within a
context of postmodernism”

4. Summary of Findings
 Relationships as a brand community
 Consciousness of kind
 Rituals and traditions
 Moral responsibility
 Relationships as a consumer tribe
 Linking value
 Tribal capital
 Brand meaning perspective
 Brand loyalty
 Give-and-take meanings

5. The Cultural Brand Perspective
Current:
The communal perspective
New:
The cultural brand perspective
(Heding et al. 2009: 183-210)
Brand
Consumer Consumer
Culture Branding
Brand
meaning
Brand
Meaning

6. Assumptions: Brands as Icons
(Schroeder 2009: 124)
(Heding et al. 2009: 210)
Identity value
(contribution to self-
expression)
Identity brands
(‘storied’ brand)
Iconic brands
(cultural storytellers)
Cultural icons
(Powerful symbols) John Wayne, JFK,
Jordan, Rambo, Elvis,
Oprah, Steve Jobs,
Jack Welch, Bruce
Springsteen, Martha
Apple, Nike, Harley,
VW, Coke, Bud
Reebok, Pepsi,
Saab, Coors, IBM,
Dewars. etc.

7. Assumptions: Marketplace as Myth Market
Cultural contradictions
(experienced as desires and
anxieties)
Populist world
(authentic living outside
the commercial sphere)
Consumer myth e.g.
the self-made man
myth
(film, music, politics,
ads etc.)
National ideology
(a system of ideas)
Collective identity
projects
Source Material
Holt 2004

8. Nike: Reinventing American Dream
Early 1970s:
Endorsement strategy
“Rebel with a cause”:
John McEnroe as
rebel
Late 1970s: The post-war
(picnic) American dream
unravels
The US economy
enters recession 
looking for ways to
revive the American
Dream
Late 1970s: Nike antidote:
Combative solo willpower
ideology
“There is no finish line”: Celebrating
the individual athletic determination

9. Nike: Reinventing the American Dream
1980s: The ideological
opportunity expands
Corporate
America as a
strong force 
looking for ways
to realize the
American dream
Late 1980s: The “Just do it”
myth – challenging Americans
to up their game
“Revolution” –photos of “pure”
athletes succeeding in sports
Early 1990: The African-
American ghetto as populist
world
“Spike and Mike” - fighting your
way out of the “hood” –
metaphor of work

10. Nike in Today’s Myth Market
2013: “Just do it” myth - offering a
rebellious pathway to a healthy lifestyle
Populist world: the rebellious and
authentic hero from NBRO Running
Health fixation ideology

11. The Future: Anti-brandning movement
“Just do it” myth >< doppelgänger brand image
(Adbusters 2015)
(Thompson et al. 2006)

12. Conclusive Remarks
 The cultural brand perspective:
 brands as brand icons
 Marketplace as a myth market
 The relationship between Nike and Culture:
 Nike: Reinventing the American Dream
 Nike in today’s myth market
 The future: anti-brandning movement

13. JUST DOING IT:
An Explorative Study of Collective Brand
Relationships within A Postmodern Marketplace

14. References
 Heding, T., Knudtzen, C., F., Bjerre, M. (2009). Brand Management: Research, Theory and
Practise. Routledge: London.
 Holt, D., B. (2004). How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding. Harvard
Business School Publishing Corporation: Harvard
 Holt, D. B., Cameron, D. Cultural Strategy: Using Innovative Ideologies to Build Breakthrough
Brands. Oxford University Press: New York
 Michael Jordan, John McEnroe Nike TV Commercial "Revolution”. (2006, September 26).
Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMXhtFik-vI
 NIKE ADS WITH JOHN MCENROE – PART 1. (2010, October 2). Tennis-buzz. Retrieved from:
http://tennis-buzz.com/nike-ads-with-john-mcenroe-part-1/
 NIKE PORTLAND WAS HERE! (2013, December 16). NBRO Running. Retrieved from:
http://www.nbrorunning.com/blog/
 Schroeder, J., E. (2009). The Cultural Codes of Branding. Marketing Theory (9), 123: 123-126
 Taube, A. (2013, September 1). 5 Nike Ads That Shaped The Brand's History. Business Insider.
Retrieved from:
http://www.businessinsider.com/25-nike-ads-that-shaped-the-brands-history-2013-8?
op=1&IR=T
 There Is No Finish Line. (2012, March 29). Gap International Blog. Retrieved from:
http://www.gapinternational.com/blog/there-is-no-finish-line/
 Thompson, C., J., Rindfleisch, Arsel, Z. Emotional Branding and the Strategic Value of the
Doppelgänger Brand Image. Journal of Marketing, (70): 50-64
 Unswooshing. (2015, April 21). Adbusters. Retrieved from:
https://www.adbusters.org/spoofads/unswooshing.