Introduction
Advertisements are around everyone, and therefore, marketing departments of all organizations strive to reach their target audience and influence them. While some companies use social media to interact with their consumers, others prefer other media, such as magazines and TV. However, commercials can be viewed not only from the perspective of aesthetics but also from the perspective of psychology. In the end, each commercial can be explained through certain perspectives, such as a symbolic interactionist, functionalist, or conflict theory lens, which illustrate the basic phenomena in the social construct of people.
Nike’s Ad Analysis
Conflict Theory
The commercial released by Nike, “Never settle, never done,” illustrates the use of all three perspectives. It was first shown to the audience in 2022 during the World Cup (Nike, 2022). When it comes to conflict theory, it generally implies that every individual is self-centered and the occurrence of an internal or external conflict is inevitable (Holt, 2020). For instance, in the commercial, one can see two teams playing football, opposing each other, and the coach giving a pep talk to the group to motivate them to fight for victory, which illustrates the conflict within social groups, a common theme in sports.
Symbolic Interactionism
As for the symbolic interactionist perspective, it relies on the notion that humans are dependent on interaction and communication. For instance, Nike shows this with multiple examples of young people taking pictures for social media and cheering their friends who play sports.
Functionalism
Ultimately, the functionalist perspective is grounded in the notion that gender roles and societal norms exist (Holt, 2020). The advertisement clearly illustrates the breaking of such gender inequalities and shows girls playing football, not boys, with a female coach. In this case, the perspective that works best for the commercial is the functionalist one since it strives to change unequal societal structures.
Conclusion
Consequently, any given advertisement can be analyzed through various theoretical viewpoints—such as symbolic interactionism, functionalism, or conflict theory—each of which illuminates core human social processes. The utilization of all three views is evident in the Nike “Never settle, Never done” commercial, which observes conflict through sports, fosters interaction through social media, and provides peer support, as well as a functionalist perspective by breaking gender norms. Given that the advertisement seeks to challenge unfair social systems, the functionalist point of view is the one that best fits the commercial.
References
Holt, D. (2020). Introduction to women and gender studies. VIVA Open Publishing.
Nike. (2022). Never settle, never done. YouTube.