The Nike campaign I will be discussing launched in 2005 around the same time Dove was featuring "real women" in their advertisements. Some may read that Nike was portraying similar "real women" but though intertextuality I will show that this was not their aim. Intertextuality is "the way the meaning of any one discursive image or text depends not on that one text or image but also the meanings carried by other images or texts" (Rose 142). So by cross reading several of their advertisements using discourse analysis one I aim to show that Nike is creating a similar unachievable idea of what a woman should look like that is shown in high fashion magazines. Discourse "is a particular knowledge about the world which shapes how the world is understood and how things are done in it" (Rose 142). Although high fashion's and Nike's ideals differ they both create a woman that isn't "normal" but one that is beautiful and should be a role model. This page will mostly focus on three images from the Nike campaign along with the assumption that high fashion images of women are recognized as beautiful and therefore an ideal for other women to show that Nike is not portraying a real woman but rather an alternative equally unattainable womanly figure.

I HAVE THUNDER THIGHS. AND THAT'S A COMPLIMENT BECAUSE THEY ARE STRONG AND TONED AND MUSCULAR AND THOUGH THEY ARE UNWELCOME IN THE PETITE SECTION THEY ARE CHEERED ON IN MARATHONS. FIFTY YEARS FROM NOW I'LL BOUNCE A GRANDCHILD ON MY THUNDER THIGHS AND THEN I'LL GO OUT FOR A RUN.

To begin, this ad plays off the ideology that women should not have big thighs. Ideology, as defined by Rose is "knowledge that is constructed in such a way as to legitimate unequal social power relations" (Rose 75). This ideology has not only been built from years of advertisements, tabloids, and fashion magazines portraying small women with thin legs, but also from how clothing fits. Further the thighs and text in this ad point to the historical idea that women should not be strong but rather petite. This points to the presumption and underlying gender norms in our culture. Women are supposed to be feminine which is everything masculine is not, and strength is a "masculine" attribute.
When pointing out their size the ad is omitting fat, hair, and cellulite, common "problems," with big thighs. By showing pure perfect strength, the ad doesn't allow for any imperfections. Similarly fashion magazines don't allow for the same imperfections of fat deposits and cellulite. This ad is simply replacing a current skinny petite woman with an athletic one with similar standards of perfection. Although these thighs may show a more realistic woman, they are neither an easily attainable goal nor a common sight, even among women who participate in athletics. At this time I should clarify that I am making assumptions from an athlete's point of view, having participated in soccer for over 17 years now, I feel well qualified to do so.

MY BUTT IS BIG AND ROUND LIKE THE LETTER C AND THE THOUSAND LUNGES HAVE MADE IT ROUNDER BUT NOT SMALLER AND THAT'S JUST FINE. IT'S A SPACE HEATER FOR MY SIDE OF THE BED. IT'S MY AMBASSADOR TO THOSE WHO WALK BEHIND ME IT'S A BORDER COLLIE THAT HERDS SKINNY WOMEN AWAY FROM THE BEST DEALS AT CLOTHING SALES. MY BUTT IS BIG AND THAT'S JUST FINE AND THOSE WHO MIGHT SCORN IT ARE INVITED TO KISS IT.

Like the thighs ad, this ad doesn't allow for imperfections. The butt shown is smooth and perfectly round, not saggy or fatty. The differences between strength and tone are a key part to this advertisement and draws a clear line that "BIG" does not translate to "FAT." Also, it mentions the skinny women of the world and implies that this body shape is better than the petite. It also presumes that women should be strong and have that drive for athletic perfection. She shows that the athletic butt is in direct competition to the skinny butt when describing clothing deals, which I find interesting because skinny women clothes won't fit the athletic body type. I believe it is omitted to show the direct competition of the athletic butt over the skinny. This competition can also be related to athletic drive that a woman with this butt has to have, to be the best, the most fit, the most athletic, the biggest butt.
The butt advertisement also implies that a big butt is a sexually desirable object, when it refers to "my side of the bed." She has someone to share her bed with because she has a perfect rear-end. This sexually desirable trait emphasizes Nike's overall message that perfection of the athletic shape should be envied by all women that cannot achieve the end goal of a perfect behind.
By inviting "those whomight scorn" her big butt to "kiss it" she is not only showing a physical strength but a mental strength as well. It shows confidence like the last one and makes strength simultaneous with beauty and confidence. Yet, this perfect strength and beauty isn't for everyone and isn't attainable for anyone. It takes a certain type of woman to have the motivation to do "ten thousand lunges" and not every woman can be this.

MY LEGS WERE ONCE TWO HAIRY STICKS THAT WEREN'T VERY GOOD AT JUMP ROPE BUT BY THE TIME I REACHED THE AGE OF ALGEBRA THEY HAD COME INTO THEIR OWN AND NOW IN SPIN CLASS THEY ARE REVERED. ENVIED FOR THEIR STRENGHT HONORED FOR THEIR BEAUTY HAIRLESS FOR THE MOST PART EXCEPT THAT PLACE THE RAZOR MISSES JUST BEHIND THE ANKLES.

Clearly the importance of beauty is emphasized in this ad. The words "revered" and "honored" also point to the desire that has been hinted at in the previous two ads. Along with the butt ad the hard, unattainable, work is shown in the text. The ad points that her legs have not always been perfect but that they required work and time. Although this ad is mostly about perfection it does hint to the tiny imperfection of a missed shaved spot behind the ankles, presumably because her calves are too big for her to see that spot. This spot is important also because it is unseen in the advertisement, which gives the impression that perhaps the athlete pictured is simply being modest for the first time throughout the ads. It also points to a small insecurity that the woman has. This insecurity is can also be attributed to a feminine trait because most women are presumed to be insecure about something physical. This insecurity is the only one through the ads that is mentioned and is significant because it relates to other women just like shopping (in the butt ad) and having grandchildren (in the thighs ad).

Finally, the overall lack of clothing in these advertisements points the audience to a feeling of desire not to necessarily wear Nike, but to buy into the idea that athletic bodies should be idolized more than skinny bodies. Without showing product alone, one can conclude that Nike isn't necessarily selling their brand but a feeling that goes along with the brand. They are aiming to sell their readers a feeling so that when the goal becomes these body parts Nike can help. The connection to the everyday women mentioned briefly in each ad also makes that goal seem more attainable however unattainable it may actually be.

Stanley Wearden and Pamela Creedon argue that the first WNBA games aired on television in 1997 "showed women succeeding at a high level without the stereotypical dependence on conventional beauty or sexuality" (Wearden, 192). During his study of the commercials during the 1997 WNBA games, they found that either women in these ads were stereotypically put down or they were empowered with very little ground. As I've touched on before, Nike is known for their "inspiring" advertisements that are aimed at "empowering" women. From my reading of "'We Go Next,'" I think that Wearden and Creedon would agree with me, yet Nike also has put out this line of advertisements for their shoes.