Nike's advertising campaign has always been one of power, the type that jumps out at the reader and grabs his or her attention. Though their ads receive huge recognition, when combined with the semiotics of today's culture these campaigns often are a chore to understand exactly what the company is communicating to its audience. Fig. 1, One of Nike's print ads depicts the silhouette of a runner under a dark, nighttime background. Surrounded by a light haze and outlined by the white clouds in the sky, the runner demonstrates the ideal of dedication. This image is then overlaid with the words "test your faith daily." Although a red swoosh is centered on the runner, this ad lacks the very thing i

The New Balance print ad takes a much more business like approach to running. By using this format, it connects with the serious runner. The ad itself is divided into two sections. The top picture displays the feet of someone running down a road in the rain. The larger picture below it shows the New Balance shoes and clothing draped across a porch with water still dripping from the rain, the sun now shining across the lawn from behind a blurb that says "We make tools for runners." From this the reader is driven to the conclusion that buying these shoes won't make the reader a superstar (like the Nike ad), and it won't make running conditions any better. But the sunshine symbolizes the reward and victory that comes with the hard work and dedication of running. The New Balance brand has grown in recognition rapidly over the past couple of years, and this ad puts the brand and the product's purpose where the reader can clearly see it.

After an intensive search effort, three commercials were able to be located on the Internet for New Balance. Following the same example as the print ad, the TV ads are targeted at someone who esteems running very highly in life. Each ad of the series showed an athlete putting her training above everyday tasks of answering the phone, checking email, or receiving a fax. According to the New Balance web

Some common words found in the essay are:
Advertising Nike's, Ad Balance, Visual Advertising, Marion Jones, Internet Balance, Nike TV, Television Advertising, According Balance, Nike Culture, According Fig, print ad, television advertising, campaigns chore understand, combined semiotics today's, campaigns chore, combined semiotics, semiotics today's, today's culture, reader ad, balance print, balance print ad, semiotics today's culture, runner ad, print ads,
Approximate Word count = 908
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)