Li Ning, which sells 50 per cent more than Nike in China, launched its Dragon shoe series with a six-week television burst. Leo Burnett, which created the campaign, said the spot substantiates Li Ning's 'anything is possible' platform.
The spot shows an athlete dribbling a basketball and then jumping into a direct ray of light from the sky. The athlete's silhouetted stance closely resembles Nike's Air Jordan brand, but Li Ning marketing manager Xu Wei Jun said the two brands were sending out very different messages. "Our commercial is about the unlimited potential of any normal player, coming from our brand platform that 'anything is possible'."
Kelvin Cheng, managing director of Leo Burnett Beijing, said the Dragon shoe was "not about a special function like Nike's air sac, but about the symbolic nature of the dragon". Cheng added: "Behind the message is the cultural heritage of the dragon in China, and the local insight that there are enormous opportunities in China."
The Dragon shoes series retails for US$32 against Nike's range at between $80 and $150. Li Ning reported Rmb 1 billion (US$122 million) in 2001 sales and has outlets in 90 per cent of the mainland's cities.
