Nike’s “Just do it” slogan is undoubtedly a killer line – and now it’s been revealed that the inspiration for it came from an actual killer.

The phrase, first used in a Nike advertisement in 1988, was brought to the firm by advertising executive Dan Wieden, who admitted that it was borrowed from something a Utah murderer spoke as he faced a firing squad. The murderer in question was Gary Gilmore, who was sentenced to death in 1977 for robbing and killing two men in Utah the previous year.

Mr Wieden, speaking at an advertising conference in Cape Town in February, said that he recalled this line in 1988 just before he had a marketing campaign meeting with Nike bosses, and decided to suggest a slightly changed version as a slogan. His company had been sent in by Nike to help them fight back rivals Reebok, who had just announced bigger profits. 

Mr Wieden said: “We… came up with five different 30 second spots. The night before a meeting with Nike I got concerned because… there wasn’t a strong connection to them all. Some were funny, some were serious. So I thought… we need a tagline to pull them together. I wrote about four or five ideas. I narrowed it down to the last one, which was ‘Just do it’. The reason I did that one was funny because I was recalling a man in Portland. He murdered a man and a woman, and was put before a firing squad. And they asked him if he had any final thoughts and he said: ‘Let's do it.’ And for some reason I didn’t like ‘Let’s do it’ so I just changed it to ‘Just do it’.”

At first, he recalled, Nike hated the idea, but he won them round and the slogan appeared at the end of an advert featuring 80-year-old runner Walt Stack. It is now one of the most famous slogans in the world, described by Campaign magazine as “arguably the best tagline of the 20th century”.

1.Why does the author write this passage?

A He intends to tell the story of Gary Gilmore the murderer.

B He wants to say that the famous tagline was inspired by a murderer.

C He attempts to say that Nike once had a difficult time in development.

D He wants to introduce the best tagline of the 20th century.

解析：选B。B 写作用意题。根据文章第1段…revealed that the inspiration for it came from an actual killer可知，本文的写作目的是为了介绍耐克公司的广告语“说做就做”的灵感来自一位临刑犯人的遗言。

2.What did Gary Gilmore do according to the passage?

A He said “Just do it” before he was put to death.

B He competed against Nike in the 1980s.

C He robbed and murdered two men in Utah in 1976.

D He worked as the advertising executive at Nike.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据文章第2段…was sentenced to death in 1977 for robbing and killing two men in Utah the previous year可知，Gary Gilmore被判死刑的原因是他1976年抢劫并谋杀了两位犹他州的居民。

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A Nike was having a hard time at the end of 1980s.

B Nike was very competitive around the world.

C Gary Gilmore taught a good lesson about advertisement.

D Either funny or serious taglines are not impressive.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据文章第3段His company had been sent in by Nike to help them fight back rivals Reebok, who had just announced bigger profits可知，耐克公司请广告公司来参加与对手Reebok(锐步公司)的竞争，由此判断，当时的耐克公司在发展方面存在困难，局面不容乐观。

4.What was Mr. Wieden concerned about?

A His idea was funny as it was borrowed from a murderer.

B He was not pleased with any of the five parts.

C The advertising lines were too serious to be attractive.

D A tagline was needed to connect five parts together.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据文章第4段…because… there wasn’t a strong connection to them all可知，威登先生认为这五个30秒的广告之间缺乏联系，需要一个标语把它们贯穿起来，起到锦上添花的作用。

5. Why did Mr. Wieden change Gary’s words “Let’s do it” into “Just do it”?

A Because Nike didn’t like the idea.

B Because he didn’t think it was a good idea.

C Because it was a criminal’s final thoughts.

D Because it was not a famous tagline.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第4段And for some reason I didn’t like ‘Let’s do it’可知，威登先生不喜欢“让我们做吧”这个说法，因此才改成了“说做就做”。