Nike Owes A Debt To Samburu Tribe For The Slogan "Just Do It"

By Mukurima X MuriukiNike's slogan is "Just do it." But do you know that were it not for a Samburu man, Nike would still probably be stuck with the original brand ad: "There is no finish line."In 1989 long after the Mlolongo Kanu voting, Nike came out with a commercial for their line of hiking shoes that was shot in Kenya using Samburu tribesmen.The idea was a simple one. They would show various people around the world going about their day as they always have, but now they’d also be wearing Nike footwear. They would also speak in native language and Nike would translate. 

It was now the turn of the Samburu man. There are no words in the ad until the very end where one tribesman speaks in his native language. As he speaks, the Nike slogan, ''Just do it,'' appears on the screen.But there was a problemDr. Lee Cronk, an anthropologist at the University of Cincinnati happened to catch the advert on television and as luck would have it, had spent two years with the Samburu people, learning about their tribe and experiencing their culture. He knew what they had said and as it turned out, the big finale to their advert didn’t say “Just Do It”The New York Times dated February 15, 1989, reported on this as follows:"Nike, the shoe company, has come out with a television commercial for hiking shoes that was shot in Kenya using Samburu tribesmen. It combines broad shots of brightly clad, dancing men and women, and close-ups of the colorful new boots. There are no words until the very end. Then the camera closes in on the one tribesman who speaks, in native Maa. As he speaks, the Nike slogan, ''Just do it,'' appears on the screen.HEY HEY: Order A Copy of the June-August Issue of African Warrior Magazine HEREProblem. Lee Cronk, an anthropologist at the University of Cincinnati, says the Kenyan is really saying: ''I don't want these. Give me big shoes.'' Nike admits its film crew improvised after having trouble getting a Maa version of the slogan.Nike's Elizabeth Dolan caught between a rock and a hard place had to be philanthropic with the truth: ''we thought nobody in America would know what he said.''Next time you buy Nike shoes thinking its "just do it" you are actually saying "I dont want these."Today, the new Samsung S8 ad has a Kikuyu song "kagondu ndûrûmarûme Kamwere...." I doubt the audience knows what "Kiere kiirû kîa maganjo kîria kîarîmîruo ni kamwogia" means.I also don't know!