SMB 2025 Vol. 11 No. 2 2025.11.23.

WHAT HAS NIKE DONE WITH THE BATON OF STEREOTYPES IN THE MEDIA

Authors

Paula Čatipović

Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Zagreb, Ivana Lepušića 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.58984/smb2502019c

The paper analyzes ways in which women are portrayed in the sports advertisement “Nike: What will they say about you?” and how that relates to stereotypes and representation of women in a broader sociological context. This is achieved by considering social trends through the prism of commodification and contemporary consumerism. For this purpose, the qualitative method of narrative analysis was used. Thus, the paper explores advertising segments in detail through linguistic, visual, and symbolic categories, which are then interpreted within the social discourse and gender and religious stereotypes. Women portrayed in said commercial are shown in different sports, situations, and conditions that require a lot of sacrifice, while the female appearance, in this case, is not the subject of attention. This discourse is therefore, in the context in which it is analyzed, an example of a refreshingly positive media advertising practice.

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