Rhetoric in Nike.com Website Design and Content

Upon first entering Nike.com, I am asked to choose my “Nike region”. First I am to pick a language, and then a location. This page is important for obvious business and consumer reasons: shipping, language, consumer information, etc. However, I think there is something else to it. One of the first thoughts that come to me is, “Wow, this company is everywhere!” From a rhetorical standpoint, the page demonstrates ethos. When you see that the company operates all over the world, you know that they’re the ‘real deal.’ It lets the consumer know that they are a trusted name, and gives the company credibility.

So I’ve picked my region. I’m now taken to Nike’s homepage. Everything is a bit dark. The color scheme is grayscale-oriented. I think this gives a feeling of importance to the viewer. It tells the viewer that ‘this is more than just sports.’ I can’t help but feel like maybe football is much more important than I had always thought.

As I’m thinking about the colors, a huge, stark-white font contrasts with its dark background and shouts at me to “VIEW ADRIAN’S ALTER EGO.” The request is in all capital letters. I click play, and the sense of importance is again prevalent. The video is in black and white. The music is dark and mysterious. If I didn’t know better I’d think I was watching a murder mystery or perhaps a suspense-thriller. The content of the video uses pathos rhetoric. Scenes of large, muscular players colliding with each other as snow falls from the sky make viewer envious. Nike=Tough. Or at least that is what I’m led to believe as I watch the remainder of the video.

I start browsing around other parts of the website, and find that the dark, serious portrayal I encountered on the home page is completely abandoned. I click on the tab that says “NikeWomen,” and see the exact same picture on the background that I saw on the homepage, except this time the color is bright. The tabs are a similar bright green as I roll over them with my mouse. I click on “Nike6.0.” and am greeted with a new bright, artistic background and images that caters more to the likings of the ‘extreme’ sports enthusiasts.

Each new area I visit, I encounter different styles and ‘moods.’ If I enter the store, I can find a lot of logos rhetoric in the details. If I go to the “Livestrong” section on the website, I find heavy amounts of pathos rhetoric: Stories of cancer and hope, the Armstrong story, etc. The website employs many forms of rhetoric to appeal to its viewers, and I think it does a pretty good job of it.