In high school I wore white Adidas Stan Smith sneakers with blue stripes. I had no clue who Stan Smith was. I figured he was a shoe designer. But girls seemed to like guys in Stan Smith sneakers, so that’s what I wore. On the basketball court, I wore black and white Air Jordans. I kept them in the original brown box, which I brought to all home and away games. They were meticulously cleaned and carefully stored in my locker. I don’t think my Stan Smith sneakers ever got me anywhere with women—a girl once dumped me over the answering machine. I can’t recall what was on my feet when my mom relayed the message. In Grade 11, I hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer from half court to win a regional championship. I was a hero in Jordan’s shoes. They put my photo in the yearbook. So in my world, when it comes to these two titans of athletic apparel, Nike wins. The story may be different for you. But you certainly have one.
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ADIDAS
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NIKE
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1949 by Adolf “Adi” Dassler, who began making shoes
in 1920, in Herzogenaurach, Germany. |
year Founded
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1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman in Oregon. (Officially became Nike in 1978.)
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Adi Dassler, drop the “sler.”
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name Origin
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Nike, winged Greek goddess of victory.
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Jesse Owens, track star from Alabama, wore the Dassler brothers’ shoes at the 1936 Olympics. The brothers later feuded, and Rudolf Dassler created Puma.
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first
athlete |
Steve Prefontaine, track star from Oregon,
first wore Nike shoes at the 1972 Olympics. Signed an endorsement deal in 1974. |
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Invention, in 1954, of light leather soccer boots with screw-in studs. The boots helped Germany beat Hungary in the ’54 World Cup final and made Adidas internationally recognized as the leader in soccer.
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game
changer |
In 1984, Michael Jordan, an admirer of Adidas, signs a five-year deal with Nike for $500,000 a year plus stock options. Air Jordan is born. Today, Jordan Brand shoes make up 58 percent of all basketball shoes bought in the U.S.
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A monotone Gilbert Arenas—only shown from the ankles down—talks to an off-camera Tracy McGrady about his new Gil Zero kicks, which start to smoke. Arenas says this is because he is actually running
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worst ad
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Old clip of Earl Woods voices over video of Tiger in 2010 post-scandal, looking really solemn on a golf course. “Did you learn anything?” Earl asks.
Tiger doesn’t answer. |
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“Impossible is nothing”
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best slogan
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“Just do it”
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Run-DMC
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Best pitchman
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Who do you think?
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Dropped plans in 2012 for a pair of sneakers with shackle-like cuffs after outcry that the shoes were racist and reminiscent of slavery. (Also, sweatshops.)
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biggest
controversy |
“Gold Digger” T-shirts, exclusively for women, are released for the 2012 Olympics and seen by some
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$19.14 billion
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2012 revenue
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$20.86 billion
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