Nike: “All Press is Good Press”

Sam Shillet
Sep 6, 2018 · 3 min read

This week, Nike announced that Colin Kaepernick — the extremely divisive social activist and former NFL quarterback — would be the face of the 30th anniversary of its “Just Do It” campaign. His face appears in an advertisement behind the quote, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

This was a very savvy move.

In case you’re unaware, Colin Kaepernick was an NFL quarterback who took the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2013. In 2016, Kaepernick began protesting police brutality by sitting during the playing of the national anthem before games. After consulting with former Army Green Beret and war veteran Nate Boyer, Kaepernick agreed that kneeling would be a better way to protest. In 2016, Kaepernick went on to play in 12 games and ended up with 2,241 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, plus 468 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. After becoming a free agent in the subsequent offseason he would not be signed by any NFL team again. He has since dedicated his time to social activism, donating $1 million of his own money.

The decision to endorse Kaepernick divided opinion. Twitter and most of social media erupted either with posts of people burning their Nike products in anger…

or of those in support of Kaepernick…

Here’s the rub — forget the politics. Nike had been losing ground from a freshness standpoint. Adidas has mounted a huge comeback on the sportswear giant that coincided with the German giant signing rapper Kanye West. A recent CNN Money report claimed that Adidas was beating Nike in technology, innovation and style.

As a sneakerhead myself, I agreed! Adidas has gotten far cooler in the past few years, with the return of classics like the Stan Smith, the Superstar, and the introduction of the Yeezy boost line. Just this past weekend a friend of mine noted how much better Adidas was at holding the attention of consumers, with loud commercials featuring such stars as Lionel Messi, James Harden, Alexander Wang, Pharrell Williams, Karlie Kloss, David Beckham, Aaron Rodgers, and more. Little did we know what Nike had up its sleeves.

Nike needed a shot in the arm, and this was certainly it. Nike has not gotten completely un-cool however. Its recent collaborations with Off-White and Founder/Designer Virgil Abloh have received much hype and praise, as well. Abloh also designed Serena Williams’ US Open attire (who was in the new campaign as well).

The company is not new to controversy either. It stayed with Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods through their legal issues. It sponsored Charles Barkley in its infamous “I am not a role model” campaign. Sponsoring Colin Kapernick is very on-brand, and frankly its been slipping for a while now.

I think it’s safe to say that Nike is back, at least for the time being. Its stock dipped yesterday, but is back up today.

Don’t lie, you talked about Nike today, whether you agree with it or not.

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Keeping Tabs on the Latest Trends Shaping Our World

Sam Shillet

Written by

Account Executive at Ditto PR. Queens born & bred. Wesleyan alum.

Ditto TrendComms

Keeping Tabs on the Latest Trends Shaping Our World

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