Corporate nationalism and glocalization of Nike advertising in “Asia”: production and representation practices of cultural intermediaries

Abstract

This paper explores the links between corporate nationalism and glocalization by examining Nike’s strategy of representing “the nation” within advertising campaigns in “Asia”. Drawing from interviews with advertising practitioners, this study offers two key findings: (a) sporting national identities are represented through a multilevel process of negotiations among various institutions and individuals; and (b) local cultural intermediaries play a central role in encoding and circulating the advertisements due to complex creative labor processes, symbolic struggles, and local sensibilities. Overall, the study illuminates the context of advertising production as the “multiple regimes of mediation” (Cronin, 2004) through which representations are negotiated and articulated under specific social relations, cultural codes, and conditions of production.