Nike's Influence on Popular Culture
According to Dictionary.com, popular culture is the cultural activities or commercial products that are reflected, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people. With this being said many business advertise their products to try to get as many people as possible to use their goods. If a company has a product that is considered popular then they are obviously doing something right. In my opinion the company that has had the biggest impact on our popular culture for 30 plus years is Nike. Nike is a company that has a vast variety of products for people in all walks of life. They have become a company that is known and recognized worldwide. If someone were to talk to someone from another country and mention the name Nike, more often than not, that person has seen, heard of, or even owns or has owed a product from Nike. For the purpose of this research I have focused on the effect that Nike shoes has on our society’s popular culture.
From the 1980’s to the present, sneakers have become a huge underground culture and they have also become the richest tale that popular culture has ever seen. Shoes are the most sought after accessory in the world, but more specifically in New York, London, Tokyo, and Paris. Athletes, graffiti artists, rappers, designers, brand marketers, and millionaires all want to have a part of this huge top of the line market. They also want to own the most unique and sought after shoes ever made. In the United States, New York has emerged as a mecca for the shoe industry by having a street that is lined with stores that only sell the top of the line shoes. The two main drivers of this huge culture include basketball and hip hop. Basketball can be said to be responsible for the culture itself, but hip hop was and is responsible for the staple style that shoes can hold. Hip hop artists even began promoting their favorite shoes all over the world by writing and performing songs about their shoes. During this time people’s shoes became part of their style and persona.
In the 1980’s people began cleaning their shoes to give their shoes a new life. The term “fresh” is a term that means that the shoes are the top of the line and look the best with absolutely zero flaws. To achieve this people started buying 5, 10, or even more pairs of the same shoes. The only difference is that each shoe would be a different look or color. This was done so that the shoe would match the outfit that the person wanted to wear. Because of this people would spend massive amounts of money and time to try to get every model and color shoe that was offered by a particular brand. During the 1990’s, Nike’s Air Jordan became a legendary urban brand. One out of twelve people were said to have owned a pair Jordan brand shoes. Since shoes were becoming such a huge necessity, people started buying shoes in all sizes and colors for the kids that they didn’t even have yet. The shoe industry was “booming.” As a result this shoe industry “boom”, violence over shoes became more prevalent. People that owned a particular shoe were robbed and even murdered.
The term “sneaker head” is a term that is commonly used to describe a person that collects shoes. This term became about due to the addiction to shoes that people started to gain. In today’s society, many people would have no problem with having over 100 or more pairs of different shoes. With the addiction to shoes comes a price. The price of some of the world’s most sought after shoes may range anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 or more. In a web series show called Detroit Rubber, by the rapper Eminem, Dmitri Young, who plays baseball for the Detroit Tigers, was searching for a limited edition Jordan shoe that would sell for $10,000. The availability for many of these shoes is very limited or even non-existent. The shoe the Dmitri Young was looking for was no longer made so in order for him to get the shoe someone would have to sell their pair. In this case there were only two known pairs left, one that Eminem owned and one the Eminem’s producer owned.
In conclusion, Nike has become a company that has benefitted greatly from the shoe culture. If Nike shoes were never made, I’m not too sure if the company would even be around today. The impact that they have made our culture is huge. The fact that people have killed others, which is a ridiculously sad thought, to own a pair of Nike shoes is crazy. Since Nike is a very prominent worldwide company, will their shoe industry ever die off? The fact that people express the need to own every color in style shoe that Nike has produced suggests that the company may never die off.
From the 1980’s to the present, sneakers have become a huge underground culture and they have also become the richest tale that popular culture has ever seen. Shoes are the most sought after accessory in the world, but more specifically in New York, London, Tokyo, and Paris. Athletes, graffiti artists, rappers, designers, brand marketers, and millionaires all want to have a part of this huge top of the line market. They also want to own the most unique and sought after shoes ever made. In the United States, New York has emerged as a mecca for the shoe industry by having a street that is lined with stores that only sell the top of the line shoes. The two main drivers of this huge culture include basketball and hip hop. Basketball can be said to be responsible for the culture itself, but hip hop was and is responsible for the staple style that shoes can hold. Hip hop artists even began promoting their favorite shoes all over the world by writing and performing songs about their shoes. During this time people’s shoes became part of their style and persona.
In the 1980’s people began cleaning their shoes to give their shoes a new life. The term “fresh” is a term that means that the shoes are the top of the line and look the best with absolutely zero flaws. To achieve this people started buying 5, 10, or even more pairs of the same shoes. The only difference is that each shoe would be a different look or color. This was done so that the shoe would match the outfit that the person wanted to wear. Because of this people would spend massive amounts of money and time to try to get every model and color shoe that was offered by a particular brand. During the 1990’s, Nike’s Air Jordan became a legendary urban brand. One out of twelve people were said to have owned a pair Jordan brand shoes. Since shoes were becoming such a huge necessity, people started buying shoes in all sizes and colors for the kids that they didn’t even have yet. The shoe industry was “booming.” As a result this shoe industry “boom”, violence over shoes became more prevalent. People that owned a particular shoe were robbed and even murdered.
The term “sneaker head” is a term that is commonly used to describe a person that collects shoes. This term became about due to the addiction to shoes that people started to gain. In today’s society, many people would have no problem with having over 100 or more pairs of different shoes. With the addiction to shoes comes a price. The price of some of the world’s most sought after shoes may range anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 or more. In a web series show called Detroit Rubber, by the rapper Eminem, Dmitri Young, who plays baseball for the Detroit Tigers, was searching for a limited edition Jordan shoe that would sell for $10,000. The availability for many of these shoes is very limited or even non-existent. The shoe the Dmitri Young was looking for was no longer made so in order for him to get the shoe someone would have to sell their pair. In this case there were only two known pairs left, one that Eminem owned and one the Eminem’s producer owned.
In conclusion, Nike has become a company that has benefitted greatly from the shoe culture. If Nike shoes were never made, I’m not too sure if the company would even be around today. The impact that they have made our culture is huge. The fact that people have killed others, which is a ridiculously sad thought, to own a pair of Nike shoes is crazy. Since Nike is a very prominent worldwide company, will their shoe industry ever die off? The fact that people express the need to own every color in style shoe that Nike has produced suggests that the company may never die off.