Nike's 'Just Do It,' the Last Great Advertising Slogan, Turns 25

W+K celebrates a milestone

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Nike's "Just do it" slogan, unveiled 25 years ago this month by Wieden + Kennedy, might be the last great tagline in advertising history.

Yes, other notables have come since—among them, Apple's "Think different" and Volkswagen's "Drivers wanted"—but none have come close to duplicating the cultural impact and mass appeal of "Just do it." I frankly doubt that any ever will.

When 80-year-old Walt Stack jogged across the Golden Gate Bridge in Nike's first "Just do it" spot, chatting about his daily 17-mile run and joking that he kept his teeth from chattering in winter by leaving them in his locker, we lived in a more homogenous media world.

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