What I think about Nike’s Kaepernick Ad

Calvin Khoi Le
Sep 5, 2018 · 1 min read

I grew up a huge Nike fan. I actually made a project where I put all my collected Nike tags onto a poster. I wore Nike from head to toe basically every day of middle school (probably elementary and high school too). After seeing this ad, I’m happy to say I’m an even bigger fan of Nike.

Nike stands for much more than a clothing company (obviously). Their slogan “Just Do It” is a call to action on life. It tells people to go chase their dreams, to strive for greatness, to ask for forgiveness instead of permission. And I don’t think this ad is any different.

I see both sides of the argument — kneeling is disrespectful, Kaepernick didn’t sacrifice anything, veterans sacrifice more. It’s not that I don’t care whether any of that is true or not, but in my opinion, it’s not what the ad is about! The ad is simple — don’t be afraid to be yourself, and don’t care what other people think, and what the backlash will be. I think it’s an amazing and inspiring message.

People are quick to criticize you regardless of what you do. So don’t try to please other people. Nike sure doesn’t.

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