SHORTLY before he took his last breath on January 17, 1977, murderer Gary Gilmore uttered three powerful words.
The US criminal was about to be executed by firing squad over the brutal slaying of petrol station attendant Max Jensen and motel manager Bennie Bushnell the previous year.
Mr Gilmore was caught after his cousin Brenda turned him into police, and he went on to receive worldwide infamy for actually demanding his death sentence be carried out.
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On the morning of his death, Mr Gilmore was taken to an abandoned cannery near his Utah prison, strapped to a chair, and asked if he had any last words.
“Let’s do it,” was his simply reply.
With that, a cloak was placed over his head, and five gunmen opened fire, ending his life.
But his final words would live on.
In a 2009 New York Times article, it was revealed that US advertising executive Dan Wieden tweaked the killer’s catchphrase into the famous Nike slogan, “Just Do It”, that we all know today.
In a documentary titled Art & Copy which is referred to in the article, Mr Wieden remembers the moment he heard Ms Gilmore’s words — and realised they could be used to sell sportswear.
“I like the ‘do it’ part of it,” Mr Wieden said.
“None of us really paid that much attention. We thought, ‘Yeah. That’d work.’
“People started reading things into it much more than sport.”
But even though Mr Wieden admitted the slogan was directly inspired by the condemned man, it’s a fact that’s not well-known even within the company.
Liz Dolan, a former marketing chief at Nike, said in the documentary the origin of the phrase was a secret to many.
“That was not the version I heard when I arrived at Nike,” she said. “I’m sure they didn’t want anyone to really know.”
It’s now the 30th anniversary of the birth of Nike’s motto, and a new ad campaign featuring controversial former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been released for the occasion.
But it’s fair to say the campaign has backfired.
Kaepernick has been a divisive figure in the US since refusing to stand and instead kneeling during the national anthem in several NFL games in the 2016 season to protest racial inequality in the country.
BREAKING: Nike had been paying Colin Kaepernick all along, waiting for the right moment. That moment is now, as he becomes the face of the company’s 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” campaign. pic.twitter.com/uccpDStbq5
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 3, 2018
A slew of conservative figures including US president Donald Trump have personally attacked him for “spitting on the flag” — and the servicemen who fought for the country.
As a result, some angry Americans have resorted to burning their Nike merchandise and tweeting using the hashtag #BoycottNike due to the company’s decision to feature Kaepernick in the latest ad.
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