The Nike swoosh is one of the most recognized company logos in the world, ranking right up there with McDonald's clown Ronald and the Lacoste alligator, according to brand consulting firm Interbrand. The journey that led to Nike becoming one of the world's most known companies starts a decade before the company that was later to become Nike was established.
Bill Bowerman
Bill Bowerman was a successful University of Oregon track coach with an inventive spirit. Back in the 1950s, he started experimenting with ways to boost his competitors' performance, exploring better everything from running surfaces to sports drinks. But the experimentation that fed into Nike involved his quest to perfect the lightweight running shoe. With his wife's waffle iron in hand, some latex, leather and glue, Bowerman developed the waffle sole that is now synonymous with running shoes everywhere, according to the National Distance Running Hall of Fame.
Phil Knight
Enter Phil Knight, a talented runner who was coached by Bowerman. Knight, too, had a passion for performance shoes. He paired up with Bowerman to distribute Tiger shoes in the 1960s. From that partnership, the forerunner to Nike, Blue Ribbon, was formed. Leveraging a $500 investment, the partners placed their first order of 300 shoes and peddled them out of the trunk of Knight's car in January 1964, according to Nike's official Web site.
Jeff Johnson
The 1970s marked the era of Jeff Johnson. A fellow runner, Johnson represents Nike's first full-time employee. He was also responsible for setting up the company's first mail-order platform and first retail store, as well as for designing some of the company's earliest shoes, according to Nike.com. He was also responsible for christening what was then Blue Ribbon as Nike in 1971, paying homage to the Greek goddess of victory.
Swoosh
The "swoosh" took flight in 1972. A University of Oregon student, Carolyn Davidson, designed the logo and sold it to the young company for $35. Now the logo is commonly ranked among the top five company logos in the world. Steve Prefontaine, a distance dynamo from the University of Oregon, was tapped as the face of the "new Nike" throughout the 1970s up until his death in a car accident at the age of 24.
Celebrity
Celebrity endorsements abounded in the 1980s. The first successful campaign was for the debut of a signature shoe in 1985. The celebrity face was a young basketball star named Michael Jordan. The 1987 Air Max campaign was quickly followed by the "Just Do It" campaign featuring Bo Jackson, followed by the 1989 "Bo Knows" campaign. These ad campaigns proved so successful, according to Nike corporate, that the company that had been foundering in the early part of the decade (due to a reliance on the aerobics movement that didn't live up to expectations) surged ahead to become the market leader by the close of the 1980s.
Diversity
The 1990s was marked by brand extension, Nike.com indicates. The company had been making shoes and sportswear for golfers and soccer players for years, but they began to emphasize products to accommodate these athletes during the 1990s. By the close of the decade, soccer teams were signed to endorse products, as was golfer Tiger Woods. The company also segued into products to meet the needs and wants of cyclists, boosting the sport and Lance Armstrong into the mainstream.
Nike Now
These days, Nike is less about celebrity "faces" and more about shoes and the technology behind them. In 2000, in conjunction with the Sydney Olympics, the company launched Nike Shox. The shoe had 15 years worth of research behind it. According to Nike, other more recent innovations have harnessed the Web and customization. NikeID allows customers to go online and build their own shoe or T-shirts using colors and patterns of their liking. Nike+ is touted as the "world's largest running club" and allows runners to track their mileage and performance using a small chip inserted into their shoe.
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