After a year filled with controversy in both foreign and domestic markets and low financial returns, Nike was challenged to produce an annual report that addressed our issues honestly at half the budget of prior years. Our approach was to reproduce actual customer feedback and to address the issues through their voices rather than our own, to get away from any perception of “corporate speak.” The crossfire of opinions, suggestions, complaints, and praise were indicative of the mixed emotions that people were having about the brand. We wanted to address the company’s issues head on and put “Big Corporate Nike” on the same playing field with our public (hence, Phil Knight’s letter is placed amid other customer opinions.) The project was successful because of its honest, real approach to the issues Nike faced in 1998.