“Nike didn’t discover the power of advertising. Nike discovered the power of its own voice, and it, for the most part, has continued to ring true. The biggest advantage you have in this business is your own voice, your own way of looking at things, thinking about things. That is where your power lies.”
– Dan Wieden (b. 1945) Founder of W + K, as quoted by Susan Hoffman, Chairman of W + K, both were on the creative team for Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign
Discovering the power of our own voice doesn’t require coming up with an iconic ad phrase that survives, generation after generation. In fact, finding our own voice is what turns our “ad phrase” into a mission statement.
In these social media permeated times we live in, “everyone’s an expert,” except for the fact that just as before The Twitter, experts were few and far between.
We ought to take care whose voice we take in, and especially whose voice we take to heart. We ought to take care to strive for context and application, and not simply seek bandaids and quick-fixes.
Unless we discover our own voice and get comfortable with the power — not of the voice itself, but the power of knowing it — there will be too many other voices in our head, arguing, tugging us, nudging us, holding us back, keeping us from making a difference.
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