*I’ve been back and forth about posting this but I thought it would and interesting topic to discuss since shoes are getting a bit repetitive. Don’t worry Hovr Havoc and 3zero 2 are on deck*
I posted some thoughts on IG about the ad and Nike’s endorsement of Kaepernick. I personally think the ad is succinct and fantastic but at the same time I know Nike thought long and hard about dollars and cents before deciding on this. Nike isn’t dumb and knows that for every customer they “lose” they will be gaining new customers while gaining more loyalty from existing customers since this goes beyond the world of sports. I also believe that when other companies started talking about Kaepernick, this made Nike’s decision a little easier.
What are your thoughts on this? There is no wrong answer but I want everyone to be respectful of each other’s thoughts and reasoning. If everyone thought the same way we might as well robots.
I will delete comments if I feel they are inappropriate.
schwollo.com 
I believe there was also a statement to make. Since we live in a democracy we must accept that the majority of people voted the actual president and hence might be against Nike spot. I believe the majority of Trump voters do not care about the Kap case and hence are not negatively impacted by the spot. Counterwise, the majority of the people who did not vote Trump are delighted by the spot. Thus, I believe it was an easy choice for Nike.
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I don’t really understand why people are getting mad at the ad, to me the ad was really excellent and inspiring. Could some one explain?
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I think it’s because everyone knows this was a move encouraged by money rather than in support of his ideals.
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I fully respect Kaepernick’s right to protest. While I don’t agree with the manner in “how” he has chosen to protest, he has the Constitutional right to do so. People fought bravely and died to give us this freedom and this right.
Ironically, people who disagree with Kaepernick have fully elevated his protest to the national stage and have given it more attention than it would ever have in a vacuum. The sad part is that most people don’t even focus on the specifics of “what” he is protesting. A meaningful discussion is lost in angry rhetoric.
In regards to Nike’s choice of Kaepernick, my guess is that Nike figures that any attention (controversial or not) to their products is good attention. On my part, I could care less about who endorses their product. If they put out a good shoe that is not too pricey and doesn’t hurt my feet, I may buy it.
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Nike seems to do best when it’s got a bit of a rebel cool factor that goes against the grain of the old guard. See the Air Jordan 1 “banned” controversy, the Fab Five and the Huaraches, etc.
Nike had become a bit safe and stodgy. This is a good move.
And let’s face it, the great majority of those that have a problem with this aren’t exactly buying heat anyway. People burning their Famous Footwear $50 no name Nike’s isn’t doing anything to Nike.
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It’s Nike. It’s like cocacola, McDonald’s, Apple, etc.
They might put out some controversial ads, but in the end people are still gonna buy their products, nothing’s gonna change much for the long term. It’s the products that speak for the company, not the ads. Some teenage youtubers whining about never buying nike products again, yeah right maybe for a week.
As for Kaepernick, I really don’t care about what he did, the whole thing has been magnified too much by the media.
Kyrie’s saying the earth is flat, on the other hand, bothers me way much more, and nike even made a stupid ad to support him. That’s basically putting stupidity and ignorance into all the Kyrie fan kids’ lil brains.
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Honestly I think it’s a smart move by nike, going with the kind of rebel cause is gonna piss off alot of their usual supporters right now as we can see (with everyone burning nikes), but it’s gonna get nike a new support base with younger people and more minorities that will make nike much more money in the future. As for Kaepernick’s protest himself idk why ppl get so angry about it, its fully within his constitutional rights to peacefully protest and hes trying to bring awareness to a major problem in America today. As for the people who complain that he disrespects the flag and the military, he was inspired to protest by a veteran who told him that he should do it. Our soldiers fought for the freedom that we have today and Kaepernick is just exercising that freedom.
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Soldiers kneel to show solidarity with fallen soldiers. NFL players kneel when a player is seriously injured. Men kneel to propose marriage. People kneel to pray.
But kneeling during the anthem is “disrespectful”. Even though the guy that first kneeled explained numerous times what he was doing. Some people just always have to be doing the most.
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As a non-US individual, whenever I tried to make sense of this issue I often stumbled upon memes of this ad instead lol.
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These memes are hilarious
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Good post Schwollo…
I don’t have too much to add other than what’s already been stated. Nike made a business decision first and foremost, But still I have to give them props for taking on a risk on by making Kaepernick the face of this anniversary campaign, I’m glad that it’s paying off…I see it as a win-win situation for all parties.
I know Nike has campaigns that promote “social consciousness” like Black History Month, Equality, Be True, N7 etc but besides the Lebron 15 raffle for the Equality PE where the proceeds went towards the Smithsonian AA museum I don’t know of any details how the cultural groups benefit exposure maybe and I’ve always felt indifferent about those lines. Anyhow, just my two cents…let’s see how the rest of this discussion goes!
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I am French and I’ve never lived on the US floor, so my thoughts might not be revelvant. Anyway, I love this ad and even more the one for Serena. I know Nike don’t give a F** about Kap crusade and it’s all about money and business ! It sends a good message “Nike support the athlete” “we are the good guys” … Please consider that US is not the only market for Nike. Europe is a huge target for them. And here Trump has a very bad reputation. lots of jokes on him.
So to be quick I like it, and I think it’s a good ad for the following reason :
– It sends a good message (even if it’s for bad reasons #dollars)
– It helps Kap
– Nike may lose some customers in the US but may also gain some specially overseas
– On a marketing side it’s very well played from Nike advertising dept
– It’s a very veryu very very good campaign since it make a lot of noise (some like it some dislike it but we all talk about it, so Nike makes its point)
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This might be a controversial opinion, but I think his beard is manicured very nicely. Its clean but doesn’t go overboard into metrosexual territory.
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“I know Nike don’t give a F** about Kap crusade and it’s all about money and business !”
So how do you KNOW this as fact or are you simply trying to pass your opinion off as one?
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I am sorry maybe i choose my word wrong (sorry i’m french 🙂 )
I don’t know for sure if Nike matters or not about Kap. But I suppose that it’s not their prime motivation. I think Nike serve its interest (which means money). In this case its helps Kap so it’s cool but I am not sure they would do the same is there wasn’t money to earn…
Sorry again if my english is bad….
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Gotcha, all good bro!
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Plain and simple, I support Kaepernick’s right to protest. The fact that it seems like so many people can’t grasp or imagine a reality where you are not be allowed to express your views without the fear of being kidnapped or punished by your own government, just shows how lucky we in the west are.
I also agree with Nike’s move – at least it shines a positive light on what Kaepernick has done.
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