The ad man who told the world to ‘Just Do It’ and the advertising campaign that built the Nike brand

In October 2022 the world of marketing mourned the death of one of the most influential figures in the field. Dan Wieden passed away at the age of 77, leaving behind an incredible catalog of work.

Wieden was considered one of the most innovative figures in marketing and he orchestrated iconic campaigns for the likes of Coca-Cola, Procter and Gamble, and Old Spice. He was one of the co-founders of ad agency ‘Wieden and Kennedy’ and was responsible for one of the most iconic taglines of all time.

It was Wieden who created the “Just Do It” phrase for Nike back in 1988. At the time Nike was relatively small sportswear brand and the first client for Wieden and Kennedy. That three-word phrase would not only help to launch Nike into the global consciousness, but also signaled Wieden’s incredible eye for an idea.

ESPN’s NBA feature writer Nick DePaula paid tribute to Wieden’s genius: “Not only was the slogan great, and also approachable and vague enough that anybody could apply it to whatever it was they were trying to aspire to do.”

“But in that year of 1988, when the slogan was launched, they were coming on the same timeline of the Air Jordan 3, the Air Trainer 1, and the Air Revolution, which were three of the biggest shoes in the company history all at once.”

The innovation came at a turning point in the world of marketing and shifted the focus into a new style of communication between brands and consumers. DePaula credited the tagline with building “the foundations for Nike to take off in the ‘90s’.”

But where did Wieden’s inspiration come from? It’s one of the most recognizable marketing slogans in the world but few know the real, rather dark origins of the phrase. Wieden has previously revealed that it was taken from the final words of a death row inmate, who simply said: “You know, let’s do it.”

Wieden explained: “I remember when I read that I was like, that’s amazing. I mean how, in the face of that much uncertainty, do you push through that? So I didn’t like the ‘let’s’ thing, and so I just changed that, cause otherwise I’d have to give him credit."

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