"Bo Knows" was an advertising campaign for Nike cross-training shoes that ran in 1989 and 1990 and featured professional baseball and American football player Bo Jackson and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician, Bo Diddley.
Jackson was the first athlete in the modern era to play professional baseball and football in the same year. He was the perfect spokesman for a shoe geared toward an athlete actively engaged in more than one sport at a time or with little time between activities to switch to sport-specific footwear.
Diddley (1928-2008) was an original and influential American rock 'n' roll singer, musician, and composer. He was known as "The Originator" because of his key role in the transition from blues music to rock influencing a host of musicians including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
The original ad
The original "Bo Knows" ad was a television commercial by firm Wieden & Kennedy. The spot opens with a shot of Jackson playing baseball and fellow ballplayer Kirk Gibson saying, "Bo knows baseball." The next scene shows Jackson on the gridiron, with quarterback Jim Everett explaining, "Bo knows football." Jackson then plays basketball, tennis, and ice hockey and goes running, with Michael Jordan, John McEnroe, and Mary Decker vouching for Jackson's knowledge of their sports (Wayne Gretzky, when confronted with Jackson laying a body check, simply says "No.") The ad concludes with Jackson trying to play the guitar, whereupon blues legend Bo Diddley exclaims, "Bo, you don't know diddley!" Coincidentally, the spot first aired during the commercial break immediately following Jackson's lead-off home run in the 1989 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The music for the "Cross Training" ads was written and performed by Diddley.
Subsequent ads
Later "Bo Knows" ads saw Jackson trying his hand at cycling, soccer ("Bo knows real football"), cricket (featuring Ian Botham), surfing, weightlifting, auto racing and, as a jockey, horse racing.
In one version of the commercial, after Jackson is shown trying several activities, a confused Sonny Bono walks into the shot and says (playing off the tag line), "I thought this was another Bono's commercial."
The ad campaign was very successful, making cross-trainers Nike's number-two line behind its famous basketball shoes. It was subsequently parodied by the ProStars cartoon, which featured likenesses of Jackson, Gretzky, and Jordan. Jackson would say he knew something in almost every episode.
There was also a Public Service Announcement variant encouraging students to stay in school which had multiple copies of Bo appearing simultaneously humorously discussing how Bo knows various academic subjects.
In popular culture and spoofs
In popular culture, the phrase was well known enough for street vendors to hawk T-shirts which such modified versions of the slogan as, "Bo Knows New Kids on the Block Suck."
It was also parodied in a Sesame Street sketch (1991) where Jackson demonstrated various things that the show teaches (letters, numbers, opposites), with Diddley and the Sesame Street Muppets making "Bo Knows" comments in between. At the end of the sketch, a Little Bo Peep Muppet says, "Bo, you don't know Peep." Jackson says, "No, but I will in a minute," and they introduce themselves.
In 1995, Diddley released "Bo Knows Bo" (Island Records), an album of his biggest hits including "Who Do You Love," "Hey! Bo Diddley," and "You Can't Judge a Book (by Looking at the Cover)."
In the live concert Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming Out of Their Shells, during the Foot battle, donatello states "This is one thing Bo don't know," referring to his trademark Bo stick.
On "Animaniacs" chicken boo spoofs the ads by trying different sports, but failing at all of them.
Jackson also poked fun at the ad campaign during a guest appearance on a first season episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman . In the scene, he played basketball with Clark, portrayed by Dean Cain. Bo clearly is the better athlete, until Clark uses his flying abilities to catch the ball. Bo replies, "Bo don't know that!"
WGN TV in Chicago ran a commercial for Bozo the Clown's local TV show. The ad similarly depicted Bozo attempting to do a variety of sports, modifying the slogan to "Boze knows..."
Lakai Limited Footwear made a video spoof called "Mo Knows" for their "Mo Knows" shoe collection.
External links
- Adweek citation as one of the best TV commercials of the 1990s.
- ""Say It Ain't Bo!", Entertainment Weekly , July 27, 1990 (retrieved June 8, 2007).
- "The Sneaker Wars: Going Toe-to-Toe" by Bernice Kanner, in The Super Bowl of Advertising:
Nike Tennis Shoes | Nike Men Tennis Shoes | Nike Women Tennis Shoes ...
Nike Tennis Shoes | Nike Men Tennis Shoes | Nike Women Tennis Shoes | Nike Tennis Shoes worn by ... Nike Kid's Air Max COURT Ballistic 1.2 Tennis Shoe NIK SK0 344954-061 Clearance $59.95
Kid's Shoes | Jordan Shoes, Nike Casual Shoes, Basketball Shoes
We have shoes for big kids, little kids, toddlers and infants. ... • Tennis • Volleyball • Cheerleading • Wrestling ... Basketball Shoes; Nike Casual Shoes; adidas Superstars
Nike Tennis Apparel, Nike Tennis Clothing, Nike Tennis for Women, Men ...
Nike Tennis Apparel, Nike Tennis Clothing, Nike Tennis for Women, Men and Kids, Nike Tennis Shoes, Nike Tennis Team Apparel
Shop the newest Nike Mens Tennis Shoes including Air Max and Zoom
Men's Apparel: Women's Apparel: Kids: Accessories: Gift Ideas: Sale ... Be sure to check out our selection of Nike Courtballistec and Nike Vapor VI Tour tennis shoes, some of ...
Best Selection of Nike Womens Breathe Free, Mystify, Lunarlite Tennis ...
Men's Apparel: Women's Apparel: Kids: Accessories: Gift Ideas: Sale ... players searching for the ultimate in comfort, durability and stability, Nike women’s tennis shoes ...
Shoes | Jordan Shoes, Basketball Shoes, Nike Casual Shoes, Kids Jordan ...
Footaction offers a wide selection of the most popular shoes including Jordan shoes, basketball shoes, nike ... Cross Training; Tennis; Volleyball; Walking
Kids' Nike Shox Shoes
Kids' Nike Shox Shoes ... Football Golf Mixed Martial Arts Racquetball Soccer Tennis Volleyball
Nike Mens, Womens & Kids Tennis Shoes - Tennisnuts.com
Nike mens womens and kids shoes specially designed for Tennis. We are a authorised dealer in the U.K.
Nike Kids - Shoes, Bags, Watches - Zappos.com
Tennis; Training; Nike Kids' Shoes * (484) Boys' * (264) Running; Basketball; Action Sports; Casual; Sandals; Soccer; Tennis; Training; Girls' * (158) Running; Action Sports
Shop the complete Nike tennis line of clothing,shoes and accessories
Nike Kids ... offer performance, comfort and stability guaranteed to enhance your tennis game. All Nike shoes are ...