Want to know what good marketing is?

Good, and I mean really good marketing is something that makes you go “Duh!”. If you need to think about the marketing message for more than a split-second (actually you shouldn’t even have to think about it), then the marketers did not do a good job.

Here are few good examples of Duh Marketing that I picked out of a list. There are many more, but these do a good job of making my point. Peep the original videos, and you can see how they have evolved, pretty interesting.

1. Nike, “Just do it”, Wieden & Kennedy, 1988

2. DeBeers, “A diamond is forever”, N.W. Ayer & Son, 1948

3. U.S. Army, “Be all that you can be”, N.W. Ayer & Son, 1981

4. Budweiser, “This Bud’s for you”, D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, 1970s

5. Energizer, The Energizer Bunny, Chiat/Day, 1989

Did Nike, Gatorade, and Under Armour hire the same ad agency?

I will be straight up, I love Nike commercials. I love them for their simplicity, honesty, creativity, message, and inspiration. I get motivated by watching their ads and believe that their creative team is probably one of the best in the world.

Is it me or do all of these commercials look a little Nike-esque?

Here is one Under Armour ad (2009-2010):

Here is one Gatorade ad (2009-2010):

Here is one Nike ad (from 2 years ago):

You could easily swap out one brand for the other and not know which brand the ad was for.