Etiquette classes used to be all the rage in the 50s, with kids enduring hours of tea preparation and lessons on the proper way to hold their shoulders at the dinner table. Many books were published along that vein, one of the most popular being the "Goops and How to Be Them," meant to teach kids that being like the rude, dirty, impolite, Goop children was undesirable (but come on, those feral kids were sort of cool). Well, in lieu of etiquette history, and to borrow some 2012 Olympic coverage, Nike has created their own book of proper behavior and is giving them exclusively to attending Olympic athletes and press.
Maybe you didn't experience etiquette classes for yourself (or maybe you did), but if you're anything like me, your mother has told you many tales about her days being a demure L.A. Yacht Club daughter. In collaboration with creative agency ceft and company, Nike is taking some inspiration from those days, creating a tongue-in-cheek London 2012 Olympics Etiquette Book. Instead of teaching how to walk with a book on your head, it offers playful (albeit a tad mocking) lessons on knotting the shoelaces on your Nike trainer and how to properly roll up the sleeves on your blazer.
While the book is basically a Nike catalogue, at least they've come up with an angle that isn't worked often. Plus, they're not offering this book to the general public, which they could easily do if they wanted to really capitalize monetarily. Instead, they've created a fun and unique gift for the hardworking athletes busting their butts at the games. If you really want a copy and don't happen to be Ryan Lochte, maybe one will pop up on eBay.
Yuri Pleskun and Hannah Holman are amongst the models used and the photos were shot by Max Farago under the creative direction of Ucef Hanjani.

For more information visit Nike.com or ceftandcompany.com.