Is the Nike slogan “Just do it” the last words a man said before execution?

We’ve all seen the ‘swoosh’ and we’ve all seen the words that accompany it. What most of us don’t know, however, is that the history behind those words is actually far from inspiring. Indeed, they come from a rather dark moment.

The origin of Nike’s “Just Do It”

So, you know the products and you know the elite athletes who wear and use them. You’ve seen billboards, you’ve seen the ads and you’ve most definitely had a friend use their universally famous slogan, when telling you to go talk to your crush. What you didn’t know, however, is that Nike’s “Just Do It” phrase actually originates from a rather sinister moment in time in which there was a double murder. Yes, you read that right.

Back in 1976, a man named Gary Gilmore committed the terrible crime in Utah where he robbed and killed a gas station attendant and then a motel worker. US Supreme Court records show that Gilmore even managed to shoot himself in the hand during his heinous acts, at which point he fled to his cousin Brenda’s house in the hope of receiving medical aid. Unfortunately for Gimore, his cousin turned him over to the police when she realized what he had done. To that end, Gilmore was sentenced to death by firing squad in October of that very year. After passing the interim period in Utah State Prison, it was time for the criminal to face the music or in this case the firing squad. As he stood there waiting to meet his end, Gilmore was asked what his last words were to which responded “Let’s do it.”

How did Nike go from “Let’s do it” to “Just do it?”

You may have noticed that Gilmore’s final phrase is a little different from what Nike uses today, leaving the question as to what caused the change. As the story goes, advertising executive Dan Wieden was inspired by the words, however, he decided to change them to: “Just Do It” to form the focal point of a 1988 TV commercial, which introduced the now world-famous slogan of the sportswear giant.

“None of us really paid that much attention. We thought ‘Yeah. That’d work,’” Wieden said, when speaking about making the ad during a 2009 interview. “I liked the ‘do it’ part of it.” There was also another interview with design website, Dezeen, in which Wieden gave a little more insight into his thinking. “I was trying to write something that would tie it up, so it could speak to women who had just started walking to get in shape, to people who were world-class athletes — and it had the same kind of connection with them.” As for that 1988 commercial, it centered on an 80-year-old runner named Walt Stack.