and speed. The logo is also said to symbolize the wing of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. When first released, the design was displayed in a variety of colors to stand out on the track from other shoe manufacturers. Nike primarily used the red and white color palette on its logo for much of its history. The red is meant to exemplify passion, energy, and joy, while the white color represents nobility, charm and purity. Until 1994, the official Nike corporate logo for Nike featured the name "NIKE" in Futura Bold, all-caps font, cradled within the Swoosh. Brand image One of the most recognized logos in the world, the Nike brand is valued at $26 billion. Nike spends about 10% of its annual revenue on advertising and promotions. Harvard Business School professor Stephen A. Greyser has described the logo as "the living, vibrant symbol of the firm". Nike has made effective use of the Swoosh logo in athlete endorsements. The endorsements of Romanian tennis player Ilie Năstase and distance runner Steve Prefontaine kicked off Nike's brand sponsorships and today they endorse hundreds of athletes. Nike's endorsements of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in basketball, Shane Warne (until 2001) in cricket, Cathy Freeman in athletics, Cristiano Ronaldo in football, Tiger Woods in golf, and Roger Federer (until 2018) and Rafael Nadal in tennis are among the 15 biggest athlete endorsement deals in sports history. Nike's heritage Nike is the winged goddess of victory in Greek mythology, who sat at the side of Zeus in Olympus. Nike is said to have presided over history's earliest battlefields as she flew around rewarding the victors with glory and fame, symbolized by a wreath of leaves. She was often found next to the goddess of wisdom, Athena, who is said to never put up with defeat. In statues and paintings Nike is represented as a woman with wings dressed in a flowing robe, with a wreath in her outstretched hand. To represent her role as the messenger of victory, she is shown with the staff of Hermes. In Athens, the statue of Nike is portrayed without wings and is called Nike Apteron (Wingless Victory). Nike's wings were removed from the statue so she would not fly away, as the Athenians believed doing so would indicate her permanent stay in the city. A sculpture of Nike at Ephesus is said to contain the