The Seven Deadly Sins in Advertising

Customized Nike Free 5.0 iD $135

In this advertisement, you see an example of a customized Nike Free iD Running Shoe. The deadly sin being used here is lust. Nike's website lets the consumer use their interactive website to customize a shoe to fit anyone's style.

Nike's Advertisement for iD Free Runs

The author of this advertisement would be Nike, Inc. The date of the published ad was March 5, 2011. The place where I found this ad was from Nike's Insider website under the Launch Calendar Tab.

The denotative vibe of this advertisement is a beautiful, colorful Nike shoe. It also appears as if it is glowing, in an enhancing way. You see the ad sticks to one color theme of purple, pink, black, and gray/silver. These cultures definitely caught my eye at first glance! Not only is it visually attractive, but the product is centered to show its features. I liked the idea of using a white background to show off the product because it makes the shoes stand out more. The ad is promoting the new Nike Free Run iD and its release of March 5, 2012. Their persuasive technique includes two phrases: "SUPER NATURAL RIDE." and "CREATE THE PERFECT FREE FOR YOUR FEET." The second phrase is in a smaller font size than the first. The top picture is an example of what a Nike Free Run iD pair of shoes would be valued at; $135.

Considering the connotation behind this advertisement, as mentioned in the beginning, it commits the deadly sin of lust. In addition, one may also say that the advertisement accredits pride as a sin. Lust comes into play in advertising by influencing potential customers to desire expensive, good-looking products from magazines, or the Internet. Having an interactive feature on their website makes the advertisement even more attractive to consumers who adore the brand. The language used through diction in this ad conveys hidden messages to the consumers. For example, the word "iD" hints at the idea that when you are persuaded to customize and buy the Free Runs, you can create your very own identity for them. This identity is supposed to be a way of defining who you are and the colors you choose for the lacing, swoosh, etc., plays a role in that as well. Another example of diction is the phrase, "SUPER NATURAL RIDE". This phrase signifies the idea that buying these shoes will bring you much comfort and flexibility to your feet. It makes the inference that Free Runs are the right type of shoe for any activity. The phrase "CREATE THE PERFECT FREE FOR YOUR FEET." implies the fact that Nike is saying YOU have the freedom to create a masterpiece that is the right fit and style for YOUR feet.

With that in mind, Nike also uses pride as one of their sins. Through their ad, they are trying to promote the concept that they're shoes are better than any other athletic company's shoes because of the fact that they let you customize and select a shoe style in which you have the freedom to do so. It is how they go about marketing their product that makes them seem like the "over-the-top" company. Nevertheless, this attracts consumers.

Who is the intended audience? Well, its for the most part athletes, high school students, and consumers who love the brand Nike. High school students would be an example of popular culture that is currently being influenced by social media and Nike's website itself. Then, there's the stereotype that all rich white girls own a pair of Nike Free Runs. They are people of a worker to high class social and economic background. When seeing an ad to customize a shoe, the consumer should know going into it that making something your own, costs a little extra. With the example at the top, the value shows (and that isn't even with tax + shipping!). In my opinion, I think that these buyers sometimes don't realize how expensive the shoes will be and that it where the idea of lust comes into play in an advertisement. It doesn't show the price of the shoe for a reason; instead, they want to lure the customer in. One may also think of the intended audience as people of the poor class who are the ones who tend to be lured in the most by buying things that they don't have the money to pay for. I would say that is an example of deliberate manipulation of an audience.

Cultural knowledge that the consumers may have is the fact that Nike is one of the largest brand-selling companies in the world alongside top competitors like Adidas and Reebok. These companies are known very well all over the world, especially in Europe. Nike's history is quite interesting. The company was started by a nationally respected track & field coach at the University of Oregon in the United States. Today, it makes millions and is a strong economically sound company that makes athletes all over the world extremely happy with their quality of work in making the perfect shoe.

Works Cited

 Insider.nike.com. Nike, 5 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://insider.nike.com/us/launch/nike-free-run-id-shoe/>.

Nike. "NikeiD." Store.nike.com. Nike, 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/product/free-id/?piid=36326&pbid=427957000#?pbid=427957000>.

 Nikeinc.com. Nike, 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://nikeinc.com/pages/history-heritage>.