Naming of Nike Running shoes

To begin with, I want to talk about the moment when we are about to investigate on the Internet with the illusion of finding our new ideal running shoe. This time, we want to bet on Nike and we started by visiting the official page, but we need more information. So we move on to the next phase, the search for user opinions and experiences. However after 10 minutes we realize that something is still missing. But what language do they speak?

Indeed, you need to understand what you are reading. And it is precisely Nike is one of those brands with an enviable Verbal Brand. An exquisite symbiosis of naming, tone, voice and style, which builds its identity and through which, in this case included, it creates its own nomenclature.

For this reason, in this article I dare to make a scant deconstruction of the name of the shoe. I anticipate that it is not always exactly like that, but it serves as a guide for me. It is an interpretation.

How I Deconstruct a Nike Running Shoe

Let”s see now the magic recipe to understand the naming of the most famous sneakers. Let”s start with my favorites: the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 33. What does the name tell us?

• Brand: the first information you give us is the most important, that is, the name of the brand, in our case Nike.
• Technology and / or Material: As Nike experiments and recombines various materials and technologies, the brand name is followed by key customer information: which shoe am I buying? Air Zoom, in this case.
• Model: Needless to say, there are thousands upon thousands of models to choose from? Named after the model, Pegasus, after the winged steed from Greek mythology.
• Edition: it would be like the edition of a book, in this case the 33rd. The last one was the 34th with the Vapor fly saga. This data reveals an idea of ​​the long journey, success and demand that this shoe has.
• ID: what if an ID came up after all? It means that in the Nike Store it is a customizable shoe in the NIKE ID section.

And now I ask myself the following question: can it not follow the order of the name structure? Well, obviously. Nike can do whatever it wants with its universe. For example, Nike Lunar Epic Fly knit 2. Here I would say that Lunar Epic caters more to the model and Fly knit talks about the characteristic material or characteristic of the material of the shoe. Or how, for example, to include in the name “2 features” together, Nike zoom Fly knit Streak. Being Zoom type of cushioning and Fly knite support.

Sneakers in special or limited editions

Fashion may have been democratized, but luckily, Nike releases special editions related to special events, famous athletes, etc., that raise the bar to another level. Surely, outside the world of running, you will be familiar with the name of the famous Air Jordan. What Jordan are we talking about? From King Michael Jordan himself. We have been with Air Jordan fever for more than 30 years: from the first sneaker in 1985 to today, a whole empire has been created.

The Jordan line is a brand within Nike, with its own limited editions. An example? When in 1985 the basketball player went on a promotional tour for Nike in Italy, he broke a board with one of his hyper-famous dunks. The event was commemorated with a special Air Jordan I color scheme: black, white and orange. Any color for most, a true icon of international basketball history for Jordan fans.

And in our racing world? We can appreciate the Nike Air Zoom Romero 12 (Boston). In honor of the famous Boston Marathon, Nike launches the black and yellow model with an exclusive detail: the shamrock, the typical shamrock of the city of Boston.

Another interesting case is when there are shoes that belong to the same model, but to different disciplines. For example these two shoes: Nike Zoom Elite 9 and Nike Triple Jump Elite. Can you tell what the difference is? Well, the first is a shoe – I venture to say – that is very light training, while the second is a triple jump track shoe. The common denominator is “Elite”, which indicates that they are two versions of the same shoe with a more professional profile, designed for two different sports modalities.