Nike’s Notion of Greatness, and the Road Not Taken
I think Nike’s aim was to inspire “You have to start somewhere.”
I like your point about the physical state of Sir Isaac Newton or Mother Teresa, because it too often believed that if you are thin/lean you are healthy and if you are overweight you are unhealthy, which could not fluff my feathers more.
However, I do commend Nike for including others of different sizes in advertisements, recognizing that everyone does not begin their fitness journey already looking like David Beckham or Lolo Jones. I think what would have been the much more appropriate ‘road to take’ was putting simply an overweight person running, but not struggling so terribly — rather than taking the risk of the ad being perceived as “look at this obese person, they can barely run, because they are fat and stuff.”
Nevertheless, Nike has a very specific intention — to sell their athletic gear to us, the consumers, so you cannot fault them for not featuring a scientist, writer, chess player, etc. I will remain on the side with the benefit of the doubt given to Nike.
