Nike, Inc.

Phil Knight was a middle-distance runner at the University of Oregon who wrote a business school thesis at Stanford in 1962 arguing that high-quality Japanese athletic shoes could undercut the German brands — Adidas and Puma — that dominated the American market. After graduating, Knight flew to Japan, visited the Tiger shoe factory (now Onitsuka Tiger), and persuaded them to let him distribute their shoes in the western United States. He had no money, no warehouse, and no customers. He sold the first pairs from the boot of his car at track meets.

Knight founded Blue Ribbon Sports in January 1964 with his former track coach Bill Bowerman, each investing $500. Bowerman was obsessed with improving running shoe design — he would cut apart shoes, modify them, and give prototypes to his athletes to test. He famously poured rubber into his wife's waffle iron to create the waffle sole, which provided better traction on track surfaces. The resulting Waffle Trainer became one of the best-selling running shoes in history.

When Blue Ribbon Sports needed a new name and logo for its own shoe line — independent from Tiger — Knight asked graphic design student Carolyn Davidson to create something that conveyed movement. She presented several options; Knight chose the swoosh, which he reportedly did not love: "I don't love it, but it'll grow on me." Davidson was paid $35. The company was renamed Nike — after the Greek goddess of victory. Years later, Knight gave Davidson a gold swoosh ring set with a diamond and an undisclosed amount of Nike stock in belated recognition.

Nike signed Michael Jordan in 1984 for $2.5 million over five years — a record athlete endorsement deal at the time. Jordan had preferred Adidas; Nike had to work to convince him. The Air Jordan 1, released in 1985 in Chicago Bulls red and black, was banned by the NBA for violating uniform rules. Nike paid Jordan's fines — $5,000 per game — and turned the ban into a marketing campaign. "The shoes the NBA bans" sold out nationwide. The Air Jordan became the most successful athletic shoe franchise in history, eventually generating over $5 billion annually.

Nike's 2018 campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick — the NFL quarterback who had knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality — was one of the most polarising advertising decisions in corporate history. The campaign launched with the line: "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." Nike stock fell 3% on the day of the announcement. Calls to boycott Nike trended on social media. Nike's online sales increased 31% in the following days. The campaign won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.