Davide Grasso: Notable Nike Marketing Strategies, Including the 2008 "Just Do It" Anniversary Campaign

For the past 20 years, Vice President of Global Brand Marketing Davide Grasso has led Nike, Inc. divisions throughout the world in strategic planning and marketing capacities. In 2008, as Vice President Brand & Category Management with Nike Inc.’s Asia Pacific region, he guided one of Nike’s largest ever campaigns, centered around the Beijing Olympic Games.

The memorable global advertising campaign celebrated the 20th anniversary of the “Just Do It” slogan and featured past and present athletic greats. Originally conceived in 1988 by the Portland, Oregon, ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, “Just Do It” became the focal point of a $20 million campaign that ultimately extended across sports eras. The phrase itself was envisioned as being the process by which an athlete transformed himself or herself into a great competitor. The impact of this catchphrase was such that "Just Do It" was ranked by Advertising Age as second on its list of Top 10 Slogans of the Century. Bringing the "Just Do It" slogan and Nike ethos full circle, the 20th anniversary ad campaign was once again directed by Wieden+Kennedy.

In tandem with the Beijing Olympics, Davide Grasso also worked to increase brand awareness and market penetration in China through a sponsorship agreement with Olympic Gold Medal hurdler Liu Xiang. From 2009 to 2010, Mr. Grasso leveraged past experience in soccer apparel and footwear marketing as Nike’s Vice President of Global Football Marketing. Currently based out of the company’s Portland headquarters, Davide Grasso is focused on developing and coordinating online and traditional media campaigns throughout the world.