This 1970s Nike manifesto is absolutely wild

Is a modern office really an office without inspirational quotes scrawled across the walls, on the stairway and in meeting rooms? These days, such quotes are part and parcel of office life, though it's hard to know whether anyone ever does actually feel inspired by said maxims. We bet the ones in your office don't quite stick in the mind as much as those in an old internal memo from Nike, though – or as much as the famous Nike logo.

The memo was apparently circulated by Nike's director of marketing, Rob Strasser, in 1977 and includes 'live off the land', 'It won't be pretty' and 'If we do the right things we'll make money damn near automatic', which are varying degrees of odd. Let's unpack them a bit further. First of all, we don't quite get what 'live off the land' means. Did Nike want its employees to forage for food? Or is it a comment on using sustainable materials (we suspect not)? 

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Rosie Hilder

Rosie Hilder is Creative Bloq's Deputy Editor. After beginning her career in journalism in Argentina – where she worked as Deputy Editor of Time Out Buenos Aires – she moved back to the UK and joined Future Plc in 2016. Since then, she's worked as Operations Editor on magazines including Computer Arts, 3D World and Paint & Draw and Mac|Life. In 2018, she joined Creative Bloq, where she now assists with the daily management of the site, including growing the site's reach, getting involved in events, such as judging the Brand Impact Awards, and helping make sure our content serves the reader as best it can.