Nike released an ad for the 30th anniversary of their “Just Do It” slogan on Sept. 5. It made headlines for its use of the controversial Colin Kaepernick, a former NFL player for the San Francisco 49’ers, who was de facto banned from the NFL for kneeling during the anthem in protest of police brutality. It was widely received as a daring and socially conscious move from Nike. I am less inclined to praise this multinational heavyweight. Nike is a business. Businesses can be bold and controversial, yes, but never purposely at the expense of their bottom line.
Prior to Nike even releasing the ad, Kaepernick posted a photo of himself from the campaign to Twitter, captioned, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” After this, the internet became a firestorm of people burning Nike products, and disavowing the brand, saying using Kaepernick for their campaign was disrespectful to the military and the flag.
Colin Kaepernick played for the San Francisco 49’ers before he was de facto banned. (Photo by Mike Morbeck)
By doing this Nike has, on the surface, become the poster child for corporate social responsibility in the face of adversity. Nike’s stock fell 4 per cent after the ad was released, which was largely blamed on Nike’s choice of Kaepernick for their ad. Videos of people burning Nike shoes and apparel ran rampant all over the internet. It seemed an idyllic partnership, a David and Goliath walking hand in hand.
Unfortunately, after this, the happy picture begins to sour.
To begin with, Nike didn’t actually lose market share because of their ad campaign. In fact, according to Fortune magazine, a lot of their shares were sold off simply because Nike was doing well, their revenue rising 10 per cent in the previous three months leading up to September. By Sept. 25, Nike’s stock had increased 6 per cent since the Kaepernick endorsement. Between the amount of media exposure the ad generated and the increase in sales, Nike walks away from this looking like a winner.
A lot of people burned shoes. Quite a few people, considering people who boycott a brand don’t normally burn what they already have. But none of the people that burned their shoes were the people Nike is particularly worried about. White men, mostly middle-aged, may own Nike. But they’re not the ones who buy Nike.
There’s a difference between having a few things from a brand and being someone who patronizes their stores regularly. In 2017, Nike was struggling with their teen demographic, losing market share to other established brands like Adidas, and street brands like Supreme. This ad isn’t just shoring up their large African-American customer base, but also tying their brand in with being socially aware. They made wearing their clothes a political statement.
Some will say that despite Nike reaping benefits from this ad, isn’t it okay considering they’re advancing a cause? To that I ask, what cause exactly is that? If you took that same ad and replaced Kaepernick with quite literally any non-controversial athlete, the ad loses all its political tone. The conversation would have been that Nike released a little encouraging monologue for the 30th anniversary of their slogan, and the story would have ended there. It was not the ad that made it a social stance. Kaepernick just being in the campaign turned it into a discussion about what he had done during his time in the NFL.
Nike is a business. Making Kaepernick the face of their campaign was a calculated risk that allowed them to be political without saying anything. They may have stood by Kaepernick, but that is certainly not the same as kneeling with him. I’m not suggesting that Nike is evil for doing what they did. But I also refuse to praise them for using a social issue to pad their profit. By all means, if you feel inclined to buy the swish, I say “just do it.” It’s your money and your choice. Let’s just try to remember that a brand will show you what they think you want to see, not necessarily who they are.
By Oluwafikunmi Kilanko
Please note that opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page.
