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| google.com/images |
And there it is. The million dollar face of Kobe Bryant. He has been and is the face of many products. Products such as Mcdonalds, Sprite, and Nike.
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| google.com/images |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyXzzxB0wqs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wTkjxz3bnk
He appears in each one of the ads above. However, have you heard of the black mamba? The Black Mamba is the longest and most venemous snake in Africa. Some of you who read the title of this post knew instantly who "The Black Mamba" is referring to. But if you didn't, "The Black Mamba", is the one and only, Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant gave himself this nick name because of the way he "attacks" the other players on the court. However, this nick name has transended into an amazing form of Ethos.
Kobe got the attention of Nike with the nick name he coined, and ultimately created an entire short film, clothing line, and products.
Nike ended up launching the "Black Mamba" worldwide.
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| http://wsuent.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/the-new-black-mamba-shoe/ |
These are sneakers apart of the collection. They have "Black Mamba" imprinted on the tip of each shoe.
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| http://theshoegame.com/articles/the-black-mamba-invades-nike-beijing.html |
This is a photo taken of the black mamba snake in a nike store in Beijing.
What is interesting to me (and hopefully you) is that in the Beijing store there wasn't a picture of Kobe himself presented to promote the brand, just the snake. Also, on the sneakers, it does not say "Kobe Bryant" on the tip, rather it says, "Black Mamba".
I think this is an interesting approach to appeal when it comes to ethos. They are using solely the image of the snake itself rather than Kobe Bryant. For those who walk in the Nike store and simply see the snake, might say "WOW, sweet, a Black Mamba snake thats Nikes' new line." They have no background that the new Nike line is in fact Kobe Bryants.
On the other hand, for those who use the nick name interchangeably with Kobe Bryant, know who the brand/product is appealing to and why the "Black Mamba" (Kobe Bryant) is a credible figure to be endorsing Nike sport clothing, shoes, etc.
What do you think?
I actually didn't know that Kobe Bryant's nickname is Black Mamba, however, you raise an interesting point. The people who do know Kobe Bryant and his "alter ego" are interested in the prodict because of him, whereas someone who doesn't know Kobe could just be interested in the 'cool' product name. In other words, the product is grabbing the attention of two types of people, a very clever marketing strategy.
ReplyDeleteWe often don't contribute ethos to a nickname, but you make a very compelling argument. I didn't know that Kobe Bryant was referred to as the Black Mamba, but from reading this post I can see that this name contributes greatly to making an appeal about himself. It's all very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think this commercial also appeals to our pathos as well. Being a hug fan of Kobe Bryant, I get excited when nike comes out with a new lines of Kobe. It's not because the products are good but just because i like Kobe. Thank you for sharing the idea!
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