Nike was the Greek goddess of victory. Nike was a close companion to Zeus who was the supreme Greek deity. She was the divine charioteer in the Titan War against the old deities. She flew around the battlefield and rewarded the winners with glory. Today, Nike is one of the biggest and most successful companies in the world. They emulate victory throughout their company. Most of Nike’s advertisements consist of celebrities, their theme of winning at all cost, and using their products to do it.
In this image, there are no superstar athletes or celebrities, but just a poor Indian neighborhood. Nobody looked happy and I could not figure out what they were trying to sell. That’s why this image is unusual to be a Nike advertisement. This puzzled me and I desperately wanted to find the point behind this strange advertisement.
The image was photographed in 2005 in India by Sharad Haskar who is a famous Indian photographer. The picture is of a dog and a young, Indian boy urinating on a wall that has a red Nike check and has Nike’s motto, “Just Do It”, on the wall. The boy is very skinny, has no shoes on, and the only clothes he has on is a pair of yellow shorts. He looks to be very poor. He has very dark, tan skin and looks like he has been out in the hot sun all day. I can see the boy’s shadow in the wall which makes me think the sun is behind him and it is late in the afternoon. The night is coming very soon. The boy is with a little dog that looks like a Chihuahua. The dog looks very curious as to what the boy is doing and is staring at the area where the boy is urinating. This looks like a very poor neighborhood as well because the area around the boy is very dirty and there is garbage littered all over the ground. The ground is solid dirt and rocks, and garbage lines the bottom of the wall. The wall is concrete and is beginning to crack everywhere. It is also faded and is very dirty making me believe the wall is very old and has not been tended to in a long time. On the wall is the standard Nike check painted on very large in red. The words “Just Do It” are painted very large in black as well. All of the letters are also in all capitals making the phrase seem more emphasized.
The main question I asked when I reviewed this picture was how and what is Nike trying to sell to me. This was a technique of advertising that I had never seen and it puzzled me. I thought that maybe the boy having no shoes and clothes was Nike’s way of telling him to buy Nike apparel. The boy urinating on the wall seemed to agree with Nike and like he would listen to whatever they told him, however I thought why would Nike advertise to people who can’t afford Nike apparel. I believe the picture is a symbol of irony. The words “Just Do It” on the wall are telling the boy to urinate on the wall so he does without hesitating. I think the dog is confused because the boy is not supposed to urinating on the wall. The dog is used to be the one going to the bathroom on the wall, while the boy goes somewhere in a house.
I decided to do some research and find out the real meaning behind this picture. In my findings, I uncovered that the picture was not even a Nike advertisement. The photograph by Haskar was his way of telling the people in India to keep their cities clean and to be more sanitary. Haskar used the irony in the picture to show that you should not just follow what other people do. He is telling people that they need to take responsibility for their actions and not be influenced by anyone but themselves. I can see very clearly what Haskar is talking about as the trash is piling up along the wall. Also, he uses the boy urinating on the wall as example to parents. He is telling parents to teach their kids right from wrong and that by urinating on the wall the boy is creating a very unsanitary environment for everyone around and many others could get sick because of it.
The boy is the aspect of the image that stands out to me the most. I believe he symbolizes the cities of India and what needs to be changed in the country. The boy’s poor appearance is also a representation of India. Haskar is saying that the standard of living is way below par and by using the boy he can show people just how bad it is in India. They need someone to tell them that they are making their cities a very dangerous place to live in and some discipline is needed. From my own experience as a little boy, if I was outside and I had to go to the bathroom I would just go without even thinking about it. That is, until my mom caught me, smacked me on the head, and said don’t ever do that again. The message that Haskar is trying to send to the people is that this is unacceptable behavior.
I think the dog might represent the rest of the world watching India. The dog having his head cocked in curiosity is the rest of the world saying, “What are you doing?” Other countries are staring at the Indian people in disbelief and are very curious as to why this is happening and no one is stopping it. Haskar is saying that the Indian people are embarrassing themselves and that the rest of the world is staring and shaking their heads towards them. If the Indian people do not want be thought of as a poor, undisciplined nation they need to first take the easy steps like not littering and teaching all the people what is considered sanitary.
The wall and the surrounding area are a perfect representation of the disarray that India is in. Haskar is trying to convey by the young boy urinating that the people are the one to blame for the bad shape that the country is. The boy urinating could mean the people are insulting their country and do not care about their heritage. The people have allowed their once beautiful, tradition rich nation to become a huge, unsanitary garbage dump that puts the lives of all the people at risk. The wall represents the country falling apart and how the once strong nation is slowly cracking and crumbling to the ground.
The last aspect of the image, but certainly not the least important, is the Nike check and the words, “Just Do It”. I believe by Haskar putting these words on the wall that he is telling the people of the country to fix their country and make it a great place to live in where the people can be proud and respected by the rest of the world. As I said earlier, Nike is the Greek goddess of victory. This is the most symbolic message in the whole image. Like the victors were rewarded with glory for their actions, the Indian people would be rewarded for fixing their broken nation into an honorable place again.
By fully researching this image I believe I was able to uncover the deepest meaning of this image and the message that Haskar was really trying to convey. At first glance, this looks like just another advertisement that is trying to sell you something, but it has so many deeper meanings that people do not understand. This image is about the well being of an entire nation and has so many symbols of bigger meanings than meets the eye. It also has the simplest quote of “Just Do It” meaning to just go out and get the job done no matter what it takes to be victorious just like Nike.
