Advertising Between Brands Is Not Just Advertising.

PepsiCo gained the second place in the market by challenging Coca-Cola, and Coca-Cola is also strong in this competition.

As a result, consumer concerns have expanded the market.

But as Roger said, the trick is "coke war" must be fun.

If the war looks like a company is already in danger, bad luck, and no return to the sky, the atmosphere of the game will soon go down.

This war must be able to feel a bloody but endless war.

Everyone's interest is to keep the public curious: OK, Pepsi Cola is doing this today. Can you imagine what Coca-Cola will do tomorrow?

In fact, the advertising war between big companies is full of competition and attacks.

For example, between Microsoft and apple, between Burger King and McDonald's, between Nike and Under Armour, between Mercedes Benz and BMW.

And there are subtle differences between them.

For example, Apple launched a series of ad provocative IBM ads in 1980s. When it was 1990 years ago, it turned Microsoft into a mockery, and apple became a challenger. BMW and Mercedes' "advertising war" style is more like a best friend.

Thinking about these differences is an interesting process.

This is one of the reasons why we launched this series of reports. More importantly, behind the "advertising war" is the company's competition, which may be evenly matched or new competitors are emerging.

From this window you can see changes in the market, the pformation of the right to speak, etc.

They often fire fiercely against each other's folly in advertisements.

In fact, the struggle between them is real.

We are talking about advertising, but not just advertising.

From 1988

Putting forward "Just do it" has become the most powerful language for Nike to communicate with consumers.

Then, together with the tick, it made Nike a part of hip-hop and sports culture.

Today, Forbes has rated Nike as the most valuable.

Brand Interbrand

Top 100 list, Nike ranked 18.

The result itself reflects the changes in the pattern of sports market.

Just like Nike once used the "I'm younger" cool challenge to challenge Adidas, the huge monster it faced at that time, since last year, with Under Armour surpassing Adidas's second performance in the US market, it began to challenge Nike and be ambitious.

After fighting for so many years, Adidas and Nike suddenly discovered the "third party".

In fact, apart from the core "sports technology", the most stringent part of sports brand control is their advertising.

Nike's marketing costs in 2016 were as high as 32.8 billion dollars, and Nike's biggest threat now is that all the marketing expenses that will be spent in the next five years have been calculated in Under Armour's earnings report.

It has not been until the past few years that Under Armour has begun to invest heavily in marketing to reach consumers who used to see it as a "muscle male exclusive". At the same time, Nike's global performance is in the ascendant. 9 of the 10 most popular advertisements on the Nike YouTube channel are released in the past year.

"In my sports industry, a sweater and a pair of shoes are still the same way of production as they were 80 years ago."

Although the Under Armour founder Kevin Plank said that the industry needs "product innovation", the description of the industry itself is not wrong. If the sportswear performance is almost the same, whose marketing is smarter may decide which one you will buy.

Not only that, you can also understand the changes in the sports market through advertising marketing, and the two years' showdown is especially wonderful. Under Armour, with its dark suit, has climbed to the second place only after half the time of Nike. Adrienne Lofton, vice president of brand management of the company, described UA as Underdog, which means that people who are not optimistic in games are more risky and have higher odds.

In terms of marketing means, UA and Nike are more like the relationship between attacking and defending, and the attacking side always has more stories. We might as well start with the more dramatic challenger.

As a rising star, language and style will always be more fierce to attract attention.

People who know about Under Armour know that it started by selling fast drying clothes, which means that the competition between Under Armour and Nike initially stems from an ancient business opportunity: an insight into market segmentation.

In 1996, when Nike formally signed tiger Woods, Kevin Plank and his fast drying business were heated up in the circles of top football players in the United States, gradually linked to muscles, fitness and other elements, and gradually favored by more than moderate sports people.

In 2003, Under Armour launched its first TV advertisement, Protect This House, which was selected in a gym.

If you are familiar with rugby, Protect This House is usually the motivational term for pre competition mobilization.

Under Armour is good at making use of the instant of pain to display the brand image of strong, wild, stubborn and aggressive, and the fierce sport of American football is compatible with it.

David Weiner, a senior analyst at Deutsche Bank, commented: "Under Armour has done something different -- a sense of native land - different from Nike's more entrepreneurial and more monopolistic company."

UA store decoration style is rough, cold, cement board and cold light are common decoration.

UA is everywhere showing "I am a stronger sport brand".

This tough advertising style has continued to this day. It is the most important image asset of UA from Nike. They implanted their own Logo in the tough muscles of action movies, such as Van Dicer in speed and passion, Dwayne Johnson in special forces.

Even in the advertisement of I Will What I Want, the famous model Gisele Bundchen (the wife of the olive player Tom Brandy, two of whom are UA spokesmen) will not run and jump like other sports brands, and they will arrange her to fight.

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Under Armour's past advertising slogans

Protect the House

I Will What I Want

Rule Yourself

Slay Your Next Giant (kill the next giant)

It Comes From Below

Part Nike advertising slogans

Just do it

Find Your Greatness live your greatness

Unlimited doesn't believe in limits.

If you run, you will understand.

Hang out

Nike's Just do it it is more like an entry-level sports coach than a more vigorous UA. By relying on the idea of "everyone is an athlete" and catching a broader mass market, you can find more ordinary people with different sizes and larger ages.

For example, the Find Your Greatness (live your great) series, the fat boy who insists on running, and the 86 year old nuns Madonna Buder who don't believe in the limit. She runs marathon and takes part in triathlon, all in order to make you feel that it is not difficult to start sports, and then you may need to buy the first sports equipment in life.

If we look back at the initial marketing path of Nike, we will find that they are strikingly similar.

Including the selection of creative agents, Just do it is a Wieden+Kennedy from Portland. It was once called the "creative hot shop". It is considered to be an example of independent advertising creative company. Although it has been bought by WPP now, UA's Droga5 Droga5 is also popular in recent years. It was chosen as the annual independent advertising creative company at Cannes International Creative Festival this year.

If there is anything in common, they all have a sharp style.

Nike and W+K have been working together for 26 years, and the cooperation between Droga5 and UA has just begun.

Looking for potential spokesmen is the way to win small brands.

For sports brand, marketing is the competition between us dollar and sponsorship business. Since 2002, Nike has spent 80 US $100 billion in sports sponsorship.

Last year, Nike signed a lifetime contract with James. It is reported that the total value is more than 5 billion dollars.

Many of the top athletes and Nike signed some of the biggest sponsorship contracts in history: Jordan, Durant, Woods, Kobe, C, and Federer, etc., and according to the contract they signed, Nike's future decision to spend money on endorsement athletes has accumulated to $9 billion 400 million.

Although UA is also using this athlete based approach, it has its own set of choices for spokesmen: to focus more on the US market, to sign relatively cheap and potential college players / youth players, and to make smart choices in the budget (only Nike's 1/3) - to sign them before players occupy headlines.

The brand is well known for its dares to bet. Fortunately, many of these are worth the fare.

Stephen Currie is undoubtedly the most unexpected.

University scouts despised Currie because of his figure, and Nike gave up his cooperation with him in the 2013 year. They thought the player could not sell any signature shoes.

To date, Currie has become the two MVP winner, and his personal sneakers have become the biggest business in the industry after Jordan.

ESPN called it Nike's "century robbery" of Nike. In recent years, Nike has spent a lot of money to maintain a few players. They have become conservative in mining new talent, which gives their rivals a chance.

In addition, UA likes to look for potential stocks in the niche by swords, such as the ballet dancer Misty Copeland, who was originally called "poor choice", is now a superstar in UA women's business, and there are hunters, cross-country running, surfing, comprehensive fighting and so on in the list of the 48 main players of the brand.

UA's sharp and sharp style in the use of spokesmen is reflected in its latest ads.

At the beginning of September, UA made an ad for the quarterback of the Carolina Panther's quarterback Cam Newton, called It Comes From Below, and Cam Newton was the strongest trump for UA in rugby.

In an interview with Adweek, Adrienne Lofton, a creative participant, revealed that the inspiration of the advertisement came from the frustrated experience of Cam Newton. He lost to the Denver wild horse in the 2 bowl of the Super Bowl this year. In advertisements, such as a black panther's Newton running through the forest, it implies a lot of difficulties and dormant rise.

In fact, It Comes From Below has three levels of meaning. In addition to "counterattack", its more important meaning is the New Rugby shoes on the foot of Newton. This is the first time that UA has launched nail shoe ads, you can also understand it as a provocation against Nike, the boss of the shoe market.

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If we put it on Nike and Lebron James, if we lose the important final of life, a Nike advertisement that will move people will come out quickly in second days.

UA waited for half a year. The only reason is that the 9 month is the start of the regular season. It is a good time to promote sneakers.

You can see this striking difference through the Chinese line of Curie and James.

The two generation of curly went to China for the first time, and he vigorously promoted his signature boots everywhere, and most of James's journeys were soaked in Chinese universities and gymnasiums.

The ultimate showdown will only take place during the Olympic Games.

In 2012 London Olympics, Nike's edge ball advertising "live your greatness" how to ambush Adidas, Rio Olympic Under Armour in the same way to ambush Nike.

Nike CEO Mark Parker once said: "we use the world cup and the Olympic Games to measure the timetable."

Every time a world-class event is a great opportunity to throw off the opponent.

However, the OCOG has always been strict in protecting the rights and interests of sponsors. The brand that did not receive the official sponsor's qualification was only carrying out the "ambush marketing" with the edge ball.

For sports brand, you need a good idea, at least one top athlete who can perfectly represent your country, and carefully abide by the OCOG regulation.

UA Rule Yourself series launched in August is perfectly consistent with the above standards. The brand sponsors 250 Olympic athletes, including the "flying fish" Phelps who won 13 gold medals later.

Before the competition, the Phelps advertisement was released, and he wore a beard to show his face in a completely different form from the Americans. We have reported that this advertisement has won the overall award of the Cannes Creative Festival video advertising category.

Adweek, the authoritative media in the advertising industry, commented at the time, "although UA is still not as good as Nike in terms of revenue, some people think that UA has been able to smooth the gap through high-quality advertising.

Nike has long been known for its flash and humor. UA pays more attention to the sense of perseverance and gritty and lived, which makes the audience closer to the beauty and cruelty of high level sports.

But Nike is not a vegetarian. The terrible penetration of its brand is most vividly displayed in the Sports Illustrated after the Olympic Games. The Nike pants on the cover of Phelps are quite conspicuous. Many people say on the social platform that the sponsor UA is very embarrassed.

Whether or not it is a public relations strategy deliberately pursued by Nike, it shows the influence of its brand.

At this year's Olympic Games, they are not officially attracted by the official sponsors as they did four years ago. Instead, they use the US national team advertising, disabled athletes, pgender Olympic athletes and other themes to make a set of politically correct propaganda films.

In the 2016 fiscal year, Nike's revenue reached US $32 billion 370 million, of which US sales accounted for almost half.

At the end of last year, the company announced that it would complete its 500 revenue target of $100 billion in 2020, and that the US market would be the core area for the company to defend itself.

Nike needs to cover as many people as possible to maintain growth. In advertising, they will avoid any values that represent only a small number of people.

During the Nike Olympic Games, the "unbelief limit" was finally received 36897615 times, while Phelps's Rule Yourself watched 11260374 times, and two advertisements were the most widely advertised.

Though not attacking each other, you can see that this is a positive confrontation with gunpowder.

At present, UA is still not comparable to Nike in terms of body size, but it is no doubt an opponent that can not be ignored. Nike also regards UA as the most threatening competitor in the future.

Once Nike, now UA, and Adidas that is about to change.

Interestingly, a campaign advertisement that recently attacked the opponent directly came from Adidas. In the advertisement, the athlete wearing a skull towel was choking to UA. He said, "look, these people who are trained generally need creativity in addition to hard work."

Previously, UA launched a Rule Yourself advertisement, and 100 computer generated Curry, Spieth and Copeland swings, dribbling and dancing in advertisements.

Sport Needs Creators - adidas

The ad launched 9 months in 2016, Adidas just released their two quarter earnings report, swept away the decline, profit bullish, thanks to its revival plan in the U.S. market, and ADI's last ads, flash across the olive players, spikes, James harden, a full American flavor, aside: "Sport Needs You (sports, you save)."

The United States, the most important market for all sports brands, has undergone a series of changes in 2014. Over the years, Adidas, the second place, was overtaken by UA. It had to rely on the revenue of the licensed Trifolium to deal with shareholders. CEO Herbert Hainer claimed that it took him two years to figure out what to do in the United States. Meanwhile, UA's performance was increasing by two digits per quarter.

Adidas missed the trajectory of the United States and the order of UA climb up to the contrary. It did not take the investment vision to other fields outside football. The concern for women's market and digitalization is always the last. Even in the field of football, Adidas is losing its right to speak. The last confrontation between Nike and Nike has returned to the world cup in Brazil two years ago. It is hard to say that ADI was the winner. During the world cup, Nike's two advertisements attracted 800 thousand times of online 3 billion.

Now, ADI's first rival is UA. The brand has announced a more radical US strategy. A total of 500 football and baseball players' contracts are laying the foundation for future advertising wars.

Looking back at the Manifesto of "sports waiting for you to save", the image of the anti bone girl is very similar to that of Gisele Bundchen Michael Jordan, which is now advertised in Nike's UA Women Women.

The rising star wants to get the right to speak from the industry hegemony, which is common in all walks of life.