this project was done a business marketing class to address the ethical issues related to nike

1. Nike, Inc. ( /ˈnaɪkiː/; NYSE: NKE) is a major publicly traded clothing, footwear,
sportswear, and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is
headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's
leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel[3] and a major manufacturer of sports
equipment, with revenue in excess of US$18.6 billion in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May
31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. The brand alone
is valued at $10.7 Billion making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses.[4]
Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the
state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.
The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill
Bowerman and Phil Knight,[1] and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978. The
company takes its name from Nike (Greek Νίκη, pronounced [nǐːkɛː]), the Greek goddess
of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro,
Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding, and subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Hurley
International, Umbro and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike
Bauer) between 1995 and 2008.[5] In addition to manufacturing sportswear and
equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors
many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized
trademarks of "Just Do It" and the Swoosh logo.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Origins and history
o 1.1 Acquisitions
• 2 Products
• 3 Headquarters
• 4 Manufacturing
o 4.1 Human rights concerns
 4.1.1 Sweatshops
o 4.2 China Olympics conspiracy theory
• 5 Environmental record
• 6 Marketing strategy
o 6.1 Advertising
 6.1.1 Beatles song
 6.1.2 Minor Threat advertisement
 6.1.3 Chinese-themed advertisement
 6.1.4 Nike 6.0
o 6.2 Sponsorship
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 Further reading

2. • 10 External links
Origins and history
Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of
Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The
company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger (now
ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile.[6]
According to Otis Davis, a student athlete whom Bowerman coached at the University of
Oregon, who later went one to win two gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics,
Bowerman made the first pair of Nike shoes for him, contradicting a claim that they were
made for Phil Knight. Says Davis, "I told Tom Brokaw that I was the first. I don't care
what all the billionaires say. Bill Bowerman made the first pair of shoes for me. People
don't believe me. In fact, I didn't like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support
and they were too tight. But I saw Bowerman make them from the waffle iron, and they
were mine."[7]
The company's profits grew quickly, and, in 1967, BRS opened its first retail store,
located on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. By 1971, the relationship
between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS prepared to launch its own
line of footwear, which would bear the Swoosh newly designed by Carolyn Davidson.[8]
The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971, and was registered with the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974.[9]
The first shoe sold to the public to carry this design was a soccer shoe named Nike, which
was released in the summer of 1971. In February 1972, BRS introduced its first line of
Nike shoes, with the name derived from the Greek goddess of victory. In 1978, BRS, Inc.
officially renamed itself to Nike, Inc. Beginning with Ilie Năstase, the first professional
athlete to sign with BRS/Nike, the sponsorship of athletes became a key marketing tool
for the rapidly growing company.
The company's first self-designed product was based on Bowerman's "waffle" design.
After the University of Oregon resurfaced the track at Hayward Field, Bowerman began
experimenting with different potential outsoles that would grip the new urethane track
more effectively. His efforts were rewarded one Sunday morning when he poured liquid
urethane into his wife's waffle iron. Bowerman developed and refined the so-called
"waffle" sole, which would evolve into the now-iconic Waffle Trainer in 1974.
By 1980, Nike had attained a 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market, and the
company went public in December of that year.[10] Its growth was due largely to "word-
of-foot" advertising (to quote a Nike print ad from the late 1970s), rather than television
ads. Nike's first national television commercials ran in October 1982, during the
broadcast of the New York Marathon. The ads were created by Portland-based
advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, which had formed several months earlier in April.

3. Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many print and television
advertisements, and Wieden+Kennedy remains Nike's primary ad agency. It was agency
co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike
ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of
the 20th century and enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution.[10] Walt Stack was featured
in Nike's first "Just Do It" advertisement, which debuted on July 1, 1988.[11] Wieden
credits the inspiration for the slogan to "Let’s do it", the last words spoken by Gary
Gilmore before he was executed.[12]
Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to encompass many sports and
regions throughout the world.