Nike’s Favorability Drops 34% Overnight Following New ‘Just Do It’ Campaign with Colin Kaepernick

[Fang]

It's an interesting business tactic no doubt. I assume they know their demographic and who is most likely to buy Nike gear. Plus Donald Trump has proven time and time again with his businesses (and Presidency) that negative publicity can be a good thing.

IMO this will blow over in months to come and it'll be business as usual for Nike.

I'm not going to burn my Nike gear over this because it's clear to me now Kapaernick figured out a way to turn his falling football career into millions by using his status to ride the "blacks are oppressed" narrative. Makes no difference if that narrative is full of crap or if it's divisive. The $$$$$ is rolling in while everyone on both sides does the work for him by keeping his "message" alive by constantly talking about it. And let's be honest, no one really knows what that message is. Most people think it's a 1st Amendment debate. It's a hot topic and he's making money on it. Brilliant really if you think about it.

I agree. The whole thing will blow over in a few months and Nike will get back to making money.

They are a big company and this won't slow them down for long.

Remember the Target boycott? The Disney Boycott?

There was a Disney boycott?

 

[Cecilie1200]

It's an interesting business tactic no doubt. I assume they know their demographic and who is most likely to buy Nike gear. Plus Donald Trump has proven time and time again with his businesses (and Presidency) that negative publicity can be a good thing.

IMO this will blow over in months to come and it'll be business as usual for Nike.

I'm not going to burn my Nike gear over this because it's clear to me now Kapaernick figured out a way to turn his falling football career into millions by using his status to ride the "blacks are oppressed" narrative. Makes no difference if that narrative is full of crap or if it's divisive. The $$$$$ is rolling in while everyone on both sides does the work for him by keeping his "message" alive by constantly talking about it. And let's be honest, no one really knows what that message is. Most people think it's a 1st Amendment debate. It's a hot topic and he's making money on it. Brilliant really if you think about it.

I wouldn't blithely assume that "they know their demographic, so it's automatically smart and we just don't see it". The history of the free market contains far more stories of failure than success, huge companies that were THE name in whatever field at one time, who became obsolete and bankrupt through misjudging the market. Montgomery Wards and Sears once utterly dominated retail, and where are they now? Everyone in the country did all their grocery shopping at the A&P at one time, and now most Americans have never even heard of them.

Time will tell if this backlash diffuses into merely heightened brand awareness for Nike, or if it becomes a permanent bad odor around them.

Can't argue that. You're right, we really don't know what they're thinking. But they have the market cornered on sport teams jerseys, namely NFL and English Premier League. They are't going away anytime soon. Sears and Wards business model just became outdated with the advent of online shopping, malls and other specialty stores.

Sears and Wards, and the A&P, all missed and mis-predicted the market. Nike's doing the same thing, but in a different way. If I had to guess, I'd say they're hoping to do more or less what you suggested, get their name front and center with lots of news coverage (read: free advertising) via a controversial current event, then have the furor die down and become merely name recognition and familiarity.

I think there's a good chance, though, that they've misjudged the level of emotion in the country right now, and the ability of people to sustain it. If it doesn't die down fairly quickly, the name recognition they wanted can become name recognition as "that crap company that hates America".

 

[Cecilie1200]

It's an interesting business tactic no doubt. I assume they know their demographic and who is most likely to buy Nike gear. Plus Donald Trump has proven time and time again with his businesses (and Presidency) that negative publicity can be a good thing.

IMO this will blow over in months to come and it'll be business as usual for Nike.

I'm not going to burn my Nike gear over this because it's clear to me now Kapaernick figured out a way to turn his falling football career into millions by using his status to ride the "blacks are oppressed" narrative. Makes no difference if that narrative is full of crap or if it's divisive. The $$$$$ is rolling in while everyone on both sides does the work for him by keeping his "message" alive by constantly talking about it. And let's be honest, no one really knows what that message is. Most people think it's a 1st Amendment debate. It's a hot topic and he's making money on it. Brilliant really if you think about it.

I agree. The whole thing will blow over in a few months and Nike will get back to making money.

They are a big company and this won't slow them down for long.

Remember the Target boycott? The Disney Boycott?

There was a Disney boycott?

Yup. Went over like a pregnant pole-vaulter.

 

[dave p]

I’m sure they are petrified.

Yes, I'm sure Nike is as casually dismissive of stock drops as some welfare chucklehead on the Internet who wants the entertainment spectacle and the validation of her own sad existence no matter what the cost.

And I'm sure that NIKE has anticipated this and is fully prepared to benefit from the backlash against the Far Right.,,,and it's support of police abuse of people.

Dumb statement even for you

 

[Fang]

It's an interesting business tactic no doubt. I assume they know their demographic and who is most likely to buy Nike gear. Plus Donald Trump has proven time and time again with his businesses (and Presidency) that negative publicity can be a good thing.

IMO this will blow over in months to come and it'll be business as usual for Nike.

I'm not going to burn my Nike gear over this because it's clear to me now Kapaernick figured out a way to turn his falling football career into millions by using his status to ride the "blacks are oppressed" narrative. Makes no difference if that narrative is full of crap or if it's divisive. The $$$$$ is rolling in while everyone on both sides does the work for him by keeping his "message" alive by constantly talking about it. And let's be honest, no one really knows what that message is. Most people think it's a 1st Amendment debate. It's a hot topic and he's making money on it. Brilliant really if you think about it.

I wouldn't blithely assume that "they know their demographic, so it's automatically smart and we just don't see it". The history of the free market contains far more stories of failure than success, huge companies that were THE name in whatever field at one time, who became obsolete and bankrupt through misjudging the market. Montgomery Wards and Sears once utterly dominated retail, and where are they now? Everyone in the country did all their grocery shopping at the A&P at one time, and now most Americans have never even heard of them.

Time will tell if this backlash diffuses into merely heightened brand awareness for Nike, or if it becomes a permanent bad odor around them.

Can't argue that. You're right, we really don't know what they're thinking. But they have the market cornered on sport teams jerseys, namely NFL and English Premier League. They are't going away anytime soon. Sears and Wards business model just became outdated with the advent of online shopping, malls and other specialty stores.

Sears and Wards, and the A&P, all missed and mis-predicted the market. Nike's doing the same thing, but in a different way. If I had to guess, I'd say they're hoping to do more or less what you suggested, get their name front and center with lots of news coverage (read: free advertising) via a controversial current event, then have the furor die down and become merely name recognition and familiarity.

I think there's a good chance, though, that they've misjudged the level of emotion in the country right now, and the ability of people to sustain it. If it doesn't die down fairly quickly, the name recognition they wanted can become name recognition as "that crap company that hates America".

Yup. That's possible. It certainly wouldn't be my market strategy. But someone felt it was a good idea.

 

[Fang]

I’m sure they are petrified.

Yes, I'm sure Nike is as casually dismissive of stock drops as some welfare chucklehead on the Internet who wants the entertainment spectacle and the validation of her own sad existence no matter what the cost.

And I'm sure that NIKE has anticipated this and is fully prepared to benefit from the backlash against the Far Right.,,,and it's support of police abuse of people.

Dumb statement even for you

Agreed. Aligning yourself with the Michael Browns of the world and the false narrative that goes along with it is not a good market strategy.

 

[grainbely]

Who could have foreseen this?

But wait, it gets worse: “Among younger generations, Nike users, African Americans, and other key demographics, Nike’s favorability declined rather than improved.”

Plus: “Before Kaepernick was revealed as the face of Nike’s campaign, only two percent of Americans reported hearing something negative about Nike. After the launch, that jumped to 33 percent.”

Get woke, go broke.

Nike’s Favorability Drops Double Digits Following New ‘Just Do It’ Campaign with Colin Kaepernick

Why are you obsessing over it? Why did you obsess over a few dozen kneelers?

I enjoy mocking mentally defective people.

Thanks for joining USMB. I’ve got some new meat.

You are mocking Nike. Do you think Nike is all mentally defective?

 

[Cecilie1200]

Dear Nike,

I want to have a conversation about this hat. It’s over 13 years old. I don’t remember when I bought it exactly, I don’t remember where I bought it. But what I do remember is why I wore it.

On August 10, 2005, I was a newlywed with two young sons. My husband Tim and I had toasted our one month anniversary the night before, and I was enjoying a rare evening to myself, catching up on reading and relishing the quiet. Until there was a knock on my door. I had no way of knowing that the small act of turning a knob was about to shatter my life into a million pieces. I sat numb and in sheer disbelief as I was told that my husband, while in a foot pursuit and subsequent struggle with a suspect that ended up in the road, had been struck and killed by an oncoming vehicle. He took his last breath lying in the middle of the street.

What I lost in that moment is indescribable. I had to watch his mother be dealt the most agonizing blow a parent can face, and I couldn’t comfort her because I was in my own hell. I had to find a way to gut my own children in the gentlest way possible, and tell them that this man they had come to love, who they looked up to, who cared for them as his own, would never walk through our door again.

I don’t know if you’ve ever attended a police funeral, but watching grown men who’ve seen the absolute worst things a civilian can imagine, break down and sob over the casket of their brother is an image that never leaves you. The bagpipes haunt my dreams to this day, but it was the faces of my children, the innocence that abandoned them at such a tender age that brought me to my knees.

I had no choice but to move on. We trudged zombie-like through our days for weeks and weeks on end. I never left the house except to drive the boys to school, or buy food we barely touched. I realized that I had to do something. I had to move my body or I was going to crawl out of my own skin. So I put on the only cap I had and I went for a run. It was short, it hurt and it was ugly. But I felt, just for those few moments on that road, like a normal person. So I kept doing it. I put that hat on and I ran every day. Sometimes I had to stop and sit down because I was sobbing so hard. Sometimes I was so angry I ran until I thought I my heart would stop, sometimes I would just scream over and over again, but it still felt better than doing nothing.

That black cap became a symbol to me, it is sweat stained and it’s shape is gone, the buckle in the back barely closes; but that hat represents my family’s rise from the ashes. It stands for the strength and the sacrifice we made loving a man who had a job that we all knew could end his life, every time he walked out that door. And it did. And I accept that.

I still wear this hat, I wore it on my run this morning.

And then I heard about your new ad campaign.

Colin Kapernick has the absolute right to protest anything he damn well pleases. I don’t dispute that for one second. My father, my husband and many, many friends have all served this country and were willing to fight for his right to kneel.

But that right goes both ways. I also have a right to express my disgust at your decision to portray him as some kind of hero. What, exactly has Colin Kapernick sacrificed? His multi-million dollar paycheck…? Nope, you already gave him one of those. His reputation? No, he’s been fawned over by celebrities and media alike. Funny, Tim Tebow was never called courageous when he knelt.

This man, whose contempt for law enforcement fits him like a…sock, has promoted an agenda that has been proven false time and time again, in study after study. But facts don’t seem to matter anymore. This man has thrown his support behind divisive anti-police groups, and donated money directly to a fugitive from justice who escaped prison after killing a police officer. I question the judgement of anyone who would put someone this controversial and divisive at the head of an advertising campaign, but it isn’t my company to run.

I don’t know if I’ll have he heart to ever get rid of this cap, but I will tell you this, I’ll never purchase another Nike product as long as I live. You got this one wrong Nike, terribly, terribly wrong.

Sherry Graham-Potter, surviving spouse of Deputy Tim Graham

Yeah, I'm going to say Nike made a shit call on this one, and it's not as likely to blow over as they think it is.