Kaepernick Center of Nike 30th Anniversary Ad Campaign

[Ruined]

Well I'm impressed, and surprised, that Nike unveiled Kaepernick in its 30th Anniversary ad. To add to the situation: Nike is the official apparel of the NFL. Glad to see a corporation take a stand like this:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2018/09/03/colin-kaepernick-nike-ad-just-do-protest/1186501002/

[Sarah K]

Wish I could be in Goodell's office this week.

Can't wait to see what 45 has to say about this, too!

Maximum troll right before the season opener. Amaaaaazing.

[Swykk]

I hate football quite a bit and I think this is cool. Good for Colin! Fuck the NFL and Trump.

[Jinsai]

fuck yeah, that's awesome

[Louie_Cypher]

i think this is in conjunction with NFL to hush him and get him stop his lawsuit
-louie

[Conan The Barbarian]

Meh

I mean I know dude needs an income, but profiting over it kinda makes his protest not as impactful.

Also, the irony of a man protesting the unfair treatment of people of color working for a company known to treat their workers unfairly.

[theimage13]

I'm in the "meh" camp on this as well.

On one hand: I like that a massive corporation is siding with the people protesting.

On the other hand: using the face of a millionaire to send the message "even if it means sacrificing everything" is so fucking tone deaf it hurts. Yes, he sacrificed his career, but he'll never want for money. He didn't sacrifice everything. Far from it. Meanwhile, one of his colleagues actually served and died in combat.

I 100% support Colin and others kneeling. I don't find it offensive at all. And again, I'm glad to see a corporation support his message. But the way this particular ad was written is, to me, extremely cringe-worthy.

[GulDukat]

Almost 3000 Puerto Ricans are dead and people are upset over this...

[theimage13]

Almost 3000 Puerto Ricans are dead and people are upset over this...

Why would Americans be upset about Puerto Ricans?
Besides, that was a year ago. This is now.

(For the love of god, people, this is written in the voice of an utterly clueless Trumpeter and does not in any way shape or form reflect my own feelings)

[ton]

https://twitter.com/johnrich/status/1036751396002050050

What the fuck lol

[botley]

https://twitter.com/johnrich/status/1036751396002050050

What the fuck lol
My buddy posted this in response: https://www.facebook.com/richard.feren/posts/10160711013790277

[ton]

My buddy posted this in response: https://www.facebook.com/richard.feren/posts/10160711013790277

This is a perfect response tbh

[theimage13]

Looks like all those lil' snowflakes who burned their shoes had to go buy new ones.

Online sales were up 31% over the weekend.

[Mantra]

I'm genuinely curious about what that 31% bump is coming from.

Is it really people buying their stuff just to burn them? Is that from people who are like "Fuck yeah, let's go buy some Nike shit to support this righteous cause"...?

[botley]

Maybe both.

[theimage13]

I'm genuinely curious about what that 31% bump is coming from.

Is it really people buying their stuff just to burn them? Is that from people who are like "Fuck yeah, let's go buy some Nike shit to support this righteous cause"...?

I think it's more of the latter, with only a little of the former sprinkled in. It was also the first weekend after school started in a lot of states, so it may be belated new-school-shopping as well.

[Space Suicide]

Tone deaf and basically grand standing on fame due to something you did for “right and just causes” as a money promotion.

Yep, sounds like a celebrity protest to me alright.

Who gives a shit.

[theimage13]

Tone deaf and basically grand standing on fame due to something you did for “right and just causes” as a money promotion.

Yep, sounds like a celebrity protest to me alright.

Who gives a shit.

Lots of people. The President of the United States of America said Colin is "a son of a bitch" and said that people who use the flag in their protest shouldn't be allowed to be an American citizen. Nike came out and said "fuck you" to the president with this ad.

As tone deaf as the actual text of the ad is, the underlying statement is one that many people - especially those who are personally affected by the issues Kaepernick was protesting - will give a shit about. I'm as pasty white as they get, and I understand the importance of a public campaign to support the concerns of the mistreated.

[Mantra]

Why do you guys keep saying it's "tone deaf"?

[theimage13]

Why do you guys keep saying it's "tone deaf"?

Like I said in a previous post: using the face of a set-for-life multimillionaire with text overlaid that suggests he "sacrificed everything" in order to discuss people who have been wrongfully shot and killed? Seems pretty tone deaf to me. All he sacrificed was his job. When most of us lose a job, we fear for our ability to keep a roof over our head or food on the table without going into a debt that we'll carry to the grave. And the people he's protesting for? Some of them have literally been murdered.

People have lost far, far more than he has. To make it sound as though he's lost everything to stand up for others is absurd. He hasn't. Not by a long shot. Nike could have easily and effectively used him in a campaign to support his protests without making it sound like he's a martyr.

[sweeterthan]

People thinking you’re anti cop or anti flag isn’t exactly a safe career move in any field. It’s definitely risky to be singled out by the president. Remember, this issue was going away quietly since kaepernick wasn’t on a nfl team but then king baby man president decided to use it as political football (literally) and it’s been talked about ever since.

Are there people who sacrificed more? Yes. Would they all fit in an ad campaign? No.

The perspective to take is that the campaign is lifting up a person who was singled out because he stood up for his community. Focusing on his wealth or ethnicity as a reason to exclude him from the ad campaign is just hating.

[Mantra]

Like I said in a previous post: using the face of a set-for-life multimillionaire with text overlaid that suggests he "sacrificed everything" in order to discuss people who have been wrongfully shot and killed? Seems pretty tone deaf to me. All he sacrificed was his job. When most of us lose a job, we fear for our ability to keep a roof over our head or food on the table without going into a debt that we'll carry to the grave. And the people he's protesting for? Some of them have literally been murdered.

People have lost far, far more than he has. To make it sound as though he's lost everything to stand up for others is absurd. He hasn't. Not by a long shot. Nike could have easily and effectively used him in a campaign to support his protests without making it sound like he's a martyr.

Well, I think that's kind of a strange and cynical interpretation of all this.

The suggestion that he didn't "sacrifice" that much simply because he's rich is just being pointlessly nitpicky and also missing the broader significance. Kaepernick is black, and no amount of money can completely shield him from the consequences of being a black man in a racist society. He publicly showed solidarity for murder victims and now he can't play the game. That's because he's a black dude caring about an important black issue, which is apparently not allowed in the NFL. So his money and his status couldn't protect him from the consequences of rocking the boat. Those consequences may not be as dire as kids getting gunned down in the street, obviously, but it shows how the racial hierarchy of America always remains intact, even for millionaires.

The whole reason he was blackballed from the NFL was to shut him up and also to inspire fear in any other NFL players who might want to protest police brutality. It sends a message: go down this path and watch your career disappear. It's a concerted effort to punish Kaepernick and to intimidate everyone else. It creates an stifling atmosphere where, even if someone privately sympathizes with BLM, a lot of people probably won't take the risk because of what it might cost him. That's all intentional. So for Kaepernick to stand by his actions and for Nike to back him up like this is an attempt to fight back against that kind of silencing effect. Our society is filled with powerful people who refuse to do the right thing because they're afraid for their career, which is why something like this truly does require a certain degree of political and moral conviction that outshines the desire to preserve ones career. So I would argue that this absolutely does qualify as a "sacrifice" (also want to point out that the dude has received numerous death threats for what he did), and that it's not remotely tone deaf for Nike to describe it as such.

And obviously these are all just symbolic gestures, because that's the inherent nature of mass pop culture. That's what art is. When it comes to celebrities, artists, famous athletes, etc, we are always talking about the realm of the symbolic.

[Louie_Cypher]

people are idiots if they think nike didn't do a ton of research on this, trump supporters and fox viewers don't buy sneakers the hard right is dying off, this is why republicans are resorting to gerrymandering and voter suppression,this is the real reason behind the migrant scare, they think they vote democrat. here is the scary thing. if they get too scared of the loss of power. they will retain or power they will do so by force. you may see things quickly towards facshism. people are fed to the teeth with Trumps bullshit, tweets and divisive nature. the books op -ed. Florence could be the deciding factor in the midterms.
-louie

[Space Suicide]

Lots of people. The President of the United States of America said Colin is "a son of a bitch" and said that people who use the flag in their protest shouldn't be allowed to be an American citizen. Nike came out and said "fuck you" to the president with this ad.

As tone deaf as the actual text of the ad is, the underlying statement is one that many people - especially those who are personally affected by the issues Kaepernick was protesting - will give a shit about. I'm as pasty white as they get, and I understand the importance of a public campaign to support the concerns of the mistreated.

My who gives a shit statement related to people upset about it.

[Jinsai]

I think the funniest part of all this, is that apparently some people actually went out and BOUGHT NIKE stuff just to burn it. DERRRRRRRRRRRRRRP

[Demogorgon]

I think the funniest part of all this, is that apparently some people actually went out and BOUGHT NIKE stuff just to burn it. DERRRRRRRRRRRRRRP

yeah, but that's not really new. That's a human mass hysteria meets stupidity sorta thing that's happened a lot over the years. I mean, John Lennon said the Beatles were more popular than God, and people went crazy buying Beatles albums just to destroy them. The popular majority is dumb and/or ignorant.

[Haysey_Draws]

yeah, but that's not really new. That's a human mass hysteria meets stupidity sorta thing that's happened a lot over the years. I mean, John Lennon said the Beatles were more popular than God, and people went crazy buying Beatles albums just to destroy them. The popular majority is dumb and/or ignorant.

Couldn't agree more, even more so in the internet age!

[elevenism]

people are idiots if they think nike didn't do a ton of research on this

Now see, this is my thing. Is it cool that CK is the new face of nike? Yes.

Does this mean Nike is suddenly "woke?"

fUCK no.

You can bet your bottom dollar that he was chosen by EXTENSIVE analytics.

If they could sell more sneakers with a fucking David Duke ad campaign, I think they would do it.

This is 100% about how many sneakers they can sell.

[theimage13]

Now see, this is my thing. Is it cool that CK is the new face of nike? Yes.

Does this mean Nike is suddenly "woke?"

fUCK no.

You can get your bottom dollar that he was chosen by EXTENSIVE analytics.

If they could sell more sneakers with a fucking David Duke ad campaign, I think they would do it.

This is 100% about how many sneakers they can sell.

Yup. Now, if a byproduct of this is that more people feel listened to, or understood, and the movement gains more traction, then that's freaking awesome.

But let's not pretend that those are the reasons Nike did it.

[elevenism]

Yup. Now, if a byproduct of this is that more people feel listened to, or understood, and the movement gains more traction, then that's freaking awesome.

But let's not pretend that those are the reasons Nike did it.I saw your argument above being called cynical. I feel a little bit cynical here myself, but I'm just calling it like I see it.

[theimage13]

Exactly. This is Nike we're talking about here. This isn't some "made in America by people being paid fair, living wages" company. This is a global corporation that relies on slave labor to make sure shareholders are happy and executives can afford multiple vacation homes. Ad decisions come down to whether it's good for the company, not whether it's good for the world.

Now, I will say this: if their research had shown that going the other way - telling everyone to STAND THE FUCK UP in their sneakers - was the way to go, they wouldn't have done that. They would have just gone with a different approach entirely. Because they're smart enough to know that creating an ad that could be construed as supporting racists would not go down well.

[Mantra]

Hey just to be clear, I'm no fan of Nike. I've never bought Nike stuff because I have always been so turned off by their labor practices, and I have no intention of changing that.

My post upthread was very specifically addressing the idea that the ad was somehow "tone deaf" simply because it featured Kaepernick, which I think is a kind of unfair to him. So yeah, just to clarify, I sure as fuck ain't #teamnike.... I'm #teamKaepernick.

[theimage13]

FYI: Nike CEO donated $2.5 million to the GOP gubernatorial candidate in Oregon. He's pro-"guns for everybody" and anti-immigration, among other things.


However, as Rolling Stone has noted (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nike-phil-knight-republican-donor-746122/), he does take the Republican view on some issues, including gun control and immigration. Buehler favors repealing Oregon’s sanctuary state law (https://www.opb.org/news/article/knute-buehler-repeal-oregon-sanctuary-law/)

So yeah, about me ranting how this was first and foremost a bottom-end driven PR stunt...

[theimage13]

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2019/02/13/stephen-martin-prime-time-sports/

Shop owner boycotts Nike in protest of pro-civil liberties ad.
Nike moves on.
Shop, 20 years old, goes out of business.

Normally I'd be sad to see a small business close because they didn't want to support an international conglomerate, but given the circumstances....