We may not know Diddley, but we know what we like. Here, in order of preference, are our favorite Nike ads.
1) ''Bo Knows'' (1989)
The most famous — and it deserves to be. Bo
Jackson the baseball player smashes a pitch. ''Bo knows baseball,''
L.A. Dodger Kirk Gibson says. Jackson the football player breaks
several tackles. ''Bo knows football,'' L.A. Ram Jim Everett says. So
it goes, with Bo running, cycling, pumping iron, hitting a tennis
ball — ''Bo knows tennis?'' John McEnroe asks — and playing hockey — all
L.A. King Wayne Gretzky will say is ''No.''
All this to a driving Bo Diddley beat, which crashes to a halt
when Jackson tries to play the guitar. ''Bo,'' Diddley declares, ''you
don't know...'' You know the rest.
All the best elements of the campaign are here: a pulse-pounding score, inspirational expenditures of energy, and self-mocking humor. (But did they really need to tack on that ''six months later'' bit in the version showing Jackson playing sizzling guitar licks?)
2) ''Nooo-Bod-Eeee '' (1987)
An early installment of ''The Spike and
Mike Show.'' Mars Blackmon goes into a motor-mouth mantra about
Michael Jordan's power. (''Nobody can cover my main man, Michael
Jordan .Nobody Nooo-Bod-Eeee '') He goes on until you wonder when
somebody will shut him up. Jordan does (gently but firmly) by putting
a large hand over Mars' mouth and saying, ''But it's easy to cover
Mars Blackmon.''
3) ''Cross-Training With Bo'' (1988)
Mondays, Mr. Jackson goes
biking. (''Now when is that Tour de France thing?'') Wednesdays, he
plays basketball. (''Air Bo! I like the sound of that!'') Fridays, he
goes running. (''Another day. Another hobby.'') In each, Bo's swagger
galvanizes. But the last one is the best because he makes himself
part of the joke.
4) ''Walt Stack'' (1988)
Stack, 80, says he runs 17 miles every
morning (in the hilly San Francisco area, no less). ''People ask me
how I keep my teeth from chattering in the wintertime,'' Stack says as
he trots over the Golden Gate Bridge. Pause. ''I leave 'em in my
locker.''
5) ''Walking the Dog'' (1988)
Ads done from an animal's perspective
aren't new. But this is the funniest: A dog is yanked from every
hydrant he passes by his hard-walking owner. The best moment is when
the dog hurdles a woman bent over her garden. (''Whew!'' he says
between huffs and puffs. ''Gotta lose some weight!'')
