Nike
By: Malcolm Jennings
How it was started
Progression
Soon, Blue Ribbon Sports came up with their first original design, the Tiger Cortez. Then, the Tiger Marathon. Both shoes had new breakthroughs in technology. But Onitsuka and Blue Ribbon had a legal battle, because Blue Ribbon had ordered basketball shoes from another Japanese distributor. In the end, both companies could use models they collaborated on, but only Blue Ribbon could use the model names, such as Cortez.
In June of 1971, 9 years after Blue Ribbon had been founded, Jeff Johnson, an executive at Nike, came up with the name Nike, based off the Greek goddess of victory. Other names were considered, such as Dimension 6. Also, the new Swoosh logo was designed and all new shoes displayed this Swoosh.
The Tiger/Nike Cortez
Today
The Founder
Phil Knight
Products
Nike shoes are usually marketed with testimonials and plain folks, using their "Just Do It" slogan, either showing NBA athletes shooting hoops or just a middle-aged man doing push-ups. These commercials support Nike's belief that anyone can be an athlete.