Sorry, Barbara, Nike 'Fix' Works

Ad Week critic Barbara Lippert hates this Nike ad from Wieden + Kennedy. She calls it "smug, defensive," "holier-than-thou," and "off-putting at best."

I kinda love it. I think the tone is perfect for the brand. "This shoe works if you do." is a natural extension of "Just do it." It's direct and determined.  

And, really, those "toning" shoes she's so sensitive about? Maybe she wears them because they "feel good," but a lot of folks wear them hoping to get a workout running errands. If Nike can't poke fun at that, what can it poke fun of?  

The body copy reads: 

The Nike Trainer One is not a magical toning shoe. It's a training shoe. Its DiamondFLX technology activates your muscles to work how they're supposed to, giving you faster results from all those squats, lunges and classes that you do. So you get fit faster.