NIKETOWN written by Nikki Yeh Consumerism in Printer's Ink and Niketown - Click here to download Word version > back to main page A Look at Nike Nike is a company that claims to aid consumers in achieving high athletic performances by providing products; thus, Nike is "a shoe company that is determined…to become the very definition of sports itself" (Klein 51). Nike uses shopping display techniques, such as lights, mannequins and television screens, to attract consumers (McCarthy 155-156). However, the sports store's display features were apparent during the historical rise of consumer capitalism, meaning that stores from the early 1900s exhibited merchandise through various visual techniques, like electrical signs, glasses, and billboards (Leach 3-4). Although Nike utilizes past aesthetic display techniques, the company continues to attract modern consumers. Therefore, this paper will indicate how Nike Town in Toronto uses shopping display techniques from the early 1900s to attract customers from the twenty-first century and how this store has altered these techniques. One way that Nike Town uses past display techniques to draw in today's customers by using mannequins. However, the historical usage of mannequins must be understood. Mannequins gained popularity in 1912 because of their interaction with products (Leach 63). With "authentic-looking hair, adjustable limbs, natural facial features", and fixed emotional expressions, these mannequins swayed consumers into commodity fetishism (Leach 65). Mannequins were always placed behind glass windows, which meant that consumers could not touch them. Sheltered mannequins emitted a class difference between those who could not have access to fashionable products versus those with purchasing powers (Leach 63-66). Mannequins were therefore used during the rise of consumer capitalism to influence consumers to desire and purchase products. Unquestionably, Nike Town uses mannequins to affect today's consumers by maneuvering the 'dummies' to wear clothes and accessories. However, Nike Town has changed their use of mannequins by not placing them behind glass. The store entrance shows an example of exposed white mannequins that are placed side-by-side and wearing white t-shirts and black shorts (Figure 1). As consumers walk by these mannequins, they have easy access to touch the clothes, glance at the price tags, and feel the texture of the mannequins. Nike Town's simple interaction between mannequins and consumers enforces consumers' wants for these products (especially since consumers can physically understand how these t-shirts and shorts will benefit their lives with comfort). Nike Town may rework mannequins as objects that are open to the public, but they continue to enforce a class difference between the 'rich' and the 'poor', making it easier for the 'poor' to desire products. The 'poor' consumers are allowed to touch the clothes on the mannequins, but the clothes are still not obtainable due to the expensive prices. Thus, 'poor' consumers want to be part of Nike's branded culture because they believe their lives could be better with more money to spend on Nike products (Abelson 154-155). As stated before, mannequins from the early 1900s were created with hair and facial expressions so that people could relate to the mannequins and the products being advertised (Leach 65). Nike alters mannequins from the 1900s by not incorporating hair or facial expressions onto male and female mannequins, which gives the mannequins an androgynous appearance (Figure 2). It is interpreted that Nike Town uses androgyny to force passersby to look closely at the mannequins' facial and body features; this in turn compels consumers to view the products on the mannequins (Figure 2). Consequently, Nike Town uses the Victorian mannequin display technique to attract modern consumers. However, Nike Town has changed mannequins by making them physically public and genderless mannequins to grab consumers' attention. Additionally, Nike Town uses light display techniques from the 1900s to attract modern consumers. Lights were originally used between the mid-1890s and 1910 as a way of manipulating advertisements electrically (Leach 47). Electrical advertisements were in the form of billboards and posters that consisted of flashing lights and painted images (Leach 48). A commercial light advertiser from the 1900s named O.J. Gude created electrical advertisements with the purpose of forcing the "announcements on the vision of the uninterested as well as the interested passerby (Leach 48)." Consequently, lighting techniques in the 1900s were used so that consumers could unwillingly pay attention to new products and sub-consciously create a desire for them (Leach 48). Nike Town undoubtedly uses lighting display techniques from the past to influence today's consumers; however the store's lighting techniques are not as obtrusive as Gude's. Firstly, it should be distinguished that Nike Town in Toronto is located within a mall that consists of dim hallways. Nike Town takes advantage of its dark interior mall by installing white light beams in the store, which sequentially accentuate the dimness of the mall (Figure 3 and Figure 4). These white light beams emphasize Nike products, such as a shelf of black, white, and red shoes with a large sign titled "running" and white basketball jerseys (Figure 3 and Figure 4). It is suggestive that Nike Town wants passersby to use the store as a source of light when consumers are searching for items in their purses or wallets; as a result, products identified with lights will capture consumers' attention. Furthermore, Nike Town's lighting techniques are very similar to the 1900s because they integrate lights within posters; these lights also differ from the 1900s because the glowing posters promote a culture more so than their products (Strasser 41-44). An example of Nike Town using lights and posters to advertise culture is through their "run club" poster, which uses a white fluorescent light background and a black Nike swoosh on the top left corner (Figure 5). Nike Town's "run club" poster is more like a memo for consumers than an advertisement due to the following black text: "Nike Toronto: Cumberland Square, Thursdays: June 10- Oct. 28, 6:00pm Meeting Time, 6:30pm Depart for Run" (Figure 5). This poster is placed in the dark halls of the mall, which make interested and uninterested consumers unwillingly stare at the poster's bright lights and words (Leach 47). Because the "run club" is emphasized with white light, it is suggestive that consumers believe Nike Town is the answer to health and social problems, such as being overweight or not belonging to a social group (Figure 5). Therefore, although Nike Town uses some lighting techniques like the stores from the Victorian days, it has altered the use of lights by lighting the whole store to attract people and lighting information that does not sell products, but instead a branded culture. Moreover, Nike Town uses aesthetic display techniques from the early 1900s to attract customers from the twenty-first century by using motion with electricity and light. Electrical advertisements with lights and movement were popular after 1912 due to the use of "sky signs" (Leach 48). Sky signs were extremely popular with merchants because the advertising material could be changed daily while simultaneously using lights and electricity (Leach 48). "Thousands of tourists in sightseeing coaches visited…commercial districts to view what Gude called 'the phantasmagoria of the lights and electric signs'" (Leach 48). Consequently, using electrical and lit-up motions as a display technique was greatly effective and attracted consumers to product consumption in the 1900s. Nike Town makes use of electricity, lights, and motion, but not in the same manner as Victorian stores; Nike Town has altered this method by utilizing television screens, which makes consumers concentrate "intently on the images" (McCarthy 165). What attracts people to television screens is that they will continue to watch them until they understand what the shows are focusing on (McCarthy 165). An example of Nike Town using a television screen is when the store airs "The Michael Vick Experience". As one walks by Nike Town, a screen that is half the size of a movie theatre screen displays white capital words that state, "Prepare Yourself" (Figure 6), "Move Like Vick," "Look Like Vick," and "Feel Like Vick". Meanwhile, Michael Vick (the football player) explains how his training moments have made him successful; unexpectedly, red and white Nike shoes are getting screen close-ups (see video link). Words are then flashed on the screen that say, "The Michael Vick Experience: Coming Soon" (see video link). Because this simple commercial is emitted onto a large screen in a dark mall, consumers get a feel for being in a movie theatre, especially since the commercial states "coming soon" like movie previews. Therefore, consumers feel like they are in a movie theatre at Nike Town; these consumers consequently use the store as an entertainment source that just happens to advertise shoes. Nike Town accordingly uses electricity, lights, and motion that are reminiscent of Victorian techniques, but Nike Town has changed the display method to attract modern consumers. In conclusion, Toronto's Nike Town uses display techniques from the 1900s to attract customers from the twenty-first century. Nike Town has used and altered Victorian display techniques to make them less outdated and more sophisticated. Despite clashing differences between the Victorian days and the twenty-first century, it is identified that store display techniques from both of the timeframes have a common purpose: to make consumers believe products will make their lives better, which leads them to obtain money for more purchasing powers. BIBLIOGRAPHY Abelson, Elain S. When Ladies Go A-Thieving: Middle-Class Shoplifters in the Victorian Department Store. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989 Klein, Naomi. No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. Canada: Vintage Canada, 1999. Leach, William. Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture. New York: Vintage Books, 1994. McCarthy, Anna. Ambient Television: Visual Culture and Public Space. London: Duke University Press, 2001 Photographs of Nike Store, 110 Bloor Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Digital photos by Nikki Yeh, 2004. Strasser, Susan. Satisfaction Guaranteed: The Making of The American Mass Market. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2004 Video recording of "The Michael Vick Experience" in Nike Store, 110 Bloor Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Digital recording by Nikki Yeh, 2004. > back to main page