The Kobe Bryant ads featuring Kayne West, Jerry Rice, Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, and others are so amazingly good and have provided me with ridiculous entertainment value. It got me thinking…
I have been a consumer of Nike for years, but I can’t remember the last time I paid a dime for it. I’ve been a huge fan of and benefited greatly from their funny, entertaining, inspiring, and beautiful ads and marketing campaigns, but I haven’t brought a product in a long time. People often worry about the negative side effects of profit-seeking behavior, yet how many stop to ponder the positive side-effects? Marketing doesn’t just convey information about products to potential buyers, it provides free entertainment and art – sometimes truly top notch – to the rest of us and makes society so much richer.
Some of the greatest benefactors of the arts and entertainment are companies that produce something totally different to earn money.
Nike, you never fail to impress with your marketing savvy. Thanks for giving us this free gift!
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I’ve written about how marketing creates value here (one of my personal favorite posts of all time, FWIW), and how marketing is a form of voluntary redistribution from the wealthy to the poor.