Even the most hardened cynics are likely to find their pessimism dissipated by Nike’s emotive and triumphant messaging. With a whopping reported revenue of $44.5bn for fiscal year 2021 and ranked as the world’s most valuable apparel brand for the seventh year running, the sports behemoth clearly means more to people now than ever before. That’s saying a lot, considering that Nike, which turns 50 this May, faces stiff competition from more nimble, industry-disrupting start-ups with each passing year. But the brand’s uncanny ability to innovate and exceed expectations, rather than coast along on past successes, proves one of its 2022 messages: that ‘progress is never done’.