One of the world’s most famous athletes, Lebron James, publicly announced his decision last summer that he is going to another team, making him public enemy number one in the eyes of every NBA fan. Now seen as the villain and a traitor, Nike had to protect their multimillion dollar investment by quickly launching a new ad with Lebron asking the viewers…”What should I do?” Nike’s commercial is designed to change the current state of Lebron’s tarnished image. He does this by asking the viewers in the beginning of the commercial if he should admit that he made a mistake. Touching upon all areas where Lebron had an influence in, like his former team the Cleveland Cavaliers, shoe deal, and more importantly the message that he is NOT a role model. The ad is designed to remind the viewers that even if Lebron’s decision was a very bad one, it is made to humanize him as much as possible. That famous superstars like him are not perfect and are not prone to make mistakes. By breaking the fourth wall, the ad feels more organic, more emotional and vulnerable, a perfect recipe to what Nike has been doing really good of lately which is resuscitating the images of their tarnished stars.
