Nike's Basketball Video Analysis

If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live. (Martin Luther King Jr.) Basketball is a very common sports amongst males of all ages. With many little boys and girls having the same goal, making it into the NBA or WNBA. A Nike commerical published in 2017 argues that little boys coming from poverty ridden communities have to work a lot harder in order to achieve the goal of making it into the NBA. While an WBNA commercial released in 2015 showed that women are just as capable of doing what men do even though they may think that they can’t. Nike begins building their credibility by following the boy though his rec ball years all the way to his NBA years, and showing the extensive work he does outside of practices

The video then goes into his “mind” and progresses through many teams that Donte plays on. Through the progression it shows how much extra work he puts into basketball by spending many late nights practicing on a basketball court. Watching video clips of himself to see where he made mistakes. While also watching videos of others to learn new things that he can apply to the court. It shows the disapproval that he receives not only from himself but also from the people he’s surrounded by. The video then returns back to Donte in his front yard holding the ball looking at the basketball court. Throughout the video, Nike uses many strong emotions that strengthen their credibility and appeal to pathos, as well as build their argument. Moving from the start of his basketball career, all the way to his NBA career allows the audience to gain a more emotional connection to the boy. Instead of just seeing another boy who made it, they seen the hard work, determination and failures the boy had to go through first. Nike using music in the background helps build the suspense for the audience, because they are hesitant about if he will go all the way or not. Therefore, the audience becomes more engaged with the young boy because they want to know what the final outcome of the scenario will be. Giving the audience the emotional appeal that they feen for when watching