Nike ♥ Kaepernick
Nike’s support of Colin Kaepernick has caused a drop in its stock prices. But Nike is all-in:
In the crowded marketplace of athletic apparel, presumably Nike’s overnight transformation from selling an apolitical product to “woke sneakers” for the SJW set is a brand strategy similar to the reason why late night TV aims hard left, Robert Tracinski of the Federalist:
“What were once cultural institutions with a broad, bipartisan audience are becoming niche players with a narrow fan base. They no longer view partisan politics as a dangerous move that will shrink their audience. Instead, they’re using partisan politics as a lure to secure the loyalty of their audience, or what is left of it.”
It’s an interesting theory. I’m not so sure it applies to Nike, though. Nike was doing rather well, and it’s a product that ought to have a broad appeal. It is (or was) inherently non-political, with no content excerpt its material goods, unlike the movies or television.
So, why did Nike do it? Googling “why did Nike do it?” just now, I get a lot of positive responses from market analysts and websites, such as for example this one that basically says Nike may take a hit in the short run, but it will pay off in the long run because history will vindicate their decision and their position.
And this article says Nike’s decision will lead to profits:
…[Nike leaders] realize that despite the heated words and presidential tweets hurled Kaepernick’s way since he first kneeled during “The Star-Spangled Banner” in August 2016, he [Kaepernick] makes people money. Lots of it. He signed his Nike contract in 2011, and he hasn’t been used by the company in two years, but he spent a three-month period in 2017 after he left the 49ers as a free agent leading the franchise in merchandise sales.
Ching ching.
No wonder Nike officials decided to let Kaepernick lead this new ad campaign despite heavy hitters such as Odell Beckham Jr., Serena Williams and LeBron James. It didn’t hurt their choice that Kaepernick joined former teammate Eric Reid (another blackballed NFL free agent for protesting during the national anthem) in getting a standing ovation this week in New York. They were introduced during the U.S. Open match between the Williams sisters.
I preferred the olden days, when companies stayed out of politics (on either side) for the most part, and patriotism was the name of the game. But those days are long gone and I don’t see them coming back.
I and probably most of your commenters am not in Nike’s target audience for their commercials. Even as a youngster I bought shoes and sports gear like baseball gloves strictly on function and price. But I imagine that Nike did not do this without focus group and other ad-world testing so they will probably benefit from their campaign.
Neo, you are more athletic than many of us. Are there endorsements by famous ballet dancers for gear? Did they sway you when you were in the market for them?
Nike is being really dumb, especially WRT the NFL market. SJW’s aren’t NFL fans, they don’t watch the NFL, they don’t care about the NFL, and they’re not going to plonk down the money for the high cost/high margin goods.
What they’ve done is piss off a significant portion of their customer base who has been known to buy high cost/high margin goods. I disagree with those burning their stuff – donate it to charity, let the poor & homeless sport the Swoosh – but I do understand their reaction.
Also, this is a great big F-U to the NFL from one of their vendors. And of course, there’s this: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/broncos/2018/08/16/colin-kaepernick-denver-broncos-contact-john-elway/1010887002/
Oh, wait. Colin wants to get starting QB wages? how about no? not until you can show someone you can start. And win games. The NFL is a QB league, and only very special teams can win without a decent starting QB.
Bob:
I don’t remember endorsements by dancers. Dance shoes—the most gearlike gear in the ballet world—are an idiosyncratic thing, and the choice is based on fit, comfort, and function. My search for the perfect pointe show lasted as long as I danced. Many brands were unwearable for me. Only a few were possible, and even then the search for the right style and maker was intense (pointe shoes are handmade and marked with the personal maker’s mark, and it was necessary to try to be consistent in that respect).
I’ve written about the topic before, here.
How much does kaepernick not being offered a contract by any team have to do with him not being able to play football at a high level anymore? The cleverness of the NIKE ad was that by using the word everything it insinuated Kaepernick is still a MVP level quarterback commanding max contracts but in his choosing giving all that up to pursue social justice activism, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Liberals are just great at making persuasive propaganda, instead of protesting NIKE maybe the right should take this chance to study the nike ad campaign to understand what makes it persuasive and how brainwashing works. That is why Scott Adams is so dangerous to the left, he teaches the right how brainwashing work by dissecting their every tact and introduce to us terms like “think past the sale” to help us further understand how leftist brainwashing works.
by forcing the right to boycott nike for Nike’s support of Kaepernick, NIKE successfully has made the public think past the sale by accepting that 1. Kaepernick is a social justice activist who get persecuted by rich white NFL owners for his kneeling. 2. The cause Kaepernick took up was legit, and young males are being targeted by white police. 3. Kaepernick is still a top level athlete who deserves a max contract. 4. Kaepernick gave up a max contract and 100s of millions and paid a big price to fight for a cause he believes in.
The left’s method of brainwashing is to infinitely amplifying every negative on the right while infinitely filter out/rationalize/spin any negative on the left.
On the Business Wire news from Aug. 24, the law firm of Kahn, Swick & Foti launched a lawsuit against Nike because of,
“… a pattern of sexual harassment and discrimination wherein women were “devalued and demeaned” and that their “career trajectories are blunted because they are marginalized and passed over for promotions” with “lower salaries, smaller bonuses, and fewer stock options” than their male counterparts. Further, the lawsuit charges that the Company “avoided taking any meaningful corrective or preventive actions” in response to numerous complaints …”
Lawyer Foti was recently the AG for the state of Louisiana.
Giant banks get sued constantly, and most giant corps. get hit with some frequency, so it may be a stretch to infer anything from this.
But, remember Harvey Weinstein? When the Ronan Farrow article hit the fan, Harvey promised that he would spend his millions to take on the NRA and gun industry/lobby. That “I’m with you” attempt to bond with the SJW militant left, didn’t work for Weinstein, but the calculation might be more effective at the corporate level.
I also read over at Am. Thinker, that Nike is in a real battle with Adidas. Nike was already paying for Kaepernick and not using him. Perhaps they feared Adidas would buy him away.
I think NIKE has shot themselves in the sneakers and every part of their body that could be covered with NIKE gear and clothing.
SJWs are simply not their market.
They already had the young Black market sewed up.
The big investors have already figured out that this is a losing play.
I bought a pair of nike vapormax for my nephew who is 18 years my junior for his 18th yo birthday, he wasn’t too happy with my gift and told me “young people don’t like nike anymore, buy me yeezys or nmds instead the next time” I had no idea what those brands were and had to go online to find out. I had no idea Kanye was such an huge fashion mogul
If a company takes sides in politics, it automatically alienates up to a conceivable half of it’s potential customer base.
Shouldn’t a business try to maximize the number of it’s potential customers and maximize, as well, the goodwill towards that company by avoiding controversy? In essence, just “shut up and sing”?
If you say, well, Nike is playing to it’s young customer base, who do they think pays for the Nike shoes that sometimes cost hundreds of dollars? Is it mostly the kids themselves or, is it their parents or grandparents. What if in playing to the kids you alienate either their parents or grandparents, and they decide they don’t want to pay for Nike brand shoes?
It may play well as virtue signalling, but how can this possibly be a sound business decision?
“So, why did Nike do it? Googling “why did Nike do it?” just now, I get a lot of positive responses from market analysts and websites, such as for example this one that basically says Nike may take a hit in the short run, but it will pay off in the long run because history will vindicate their decision and their position.” – Neo.
In science, we call this a falsifiable hypothesis.
In life, we’ll see what happens.
Blert –
This is their market demographic. No URLs because I don’t want to get moderated, but the headlines are easy to find with this search:
riot mob sneaker steal.
(1) 1,200 people are killed each year over sneakers
By Marc BainNovember 20, 2015
(2) Canceled release of $220 Nike shoe causes near-riot
Updated: Feb 24, 2012 – 12:31 AM
(3) IN AMERICA’S CITIES, KIDS ARE KILLING KIDS OVER SNEAKERS AND OTHER SPORTS APPAREL FAVORED BY DRUG DEALERS. WHO’S TO BLAME?
BY RICK TELANDER
(4)NYC Flash Mob Thieves Rush Sneaker Stores, Steal Thousands in Seconds
by Chris Black
August 22, 2017, 7:51 pm
Some counter-ads from the commenters at PowerLine.
What it really means to take a knee for your country.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/efc64f53109b4a51467d4b489240a813f313d4cc9c8a86fbaccf3a53a684768a.jpg
What it really means to sacrifice everything for what you believe in.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1be07b08d7cfa41995f7eb6f14776062d6c638c9bf32f5bd68a381d346cb6caa.jpg
What are the chances that Colin K will donate all of his income from NIKE to BLM to the keep true to the slogan of scarifying everything for the cause
When I was young enough to be part of the urban sneaker demographic, I wore ‘rejects’ so I wouldn’t get beat up for my shoes. But, I was too poor to buy them anyway. So, to get them, I would have had to join a gang to take them off someone else.
Now, I still associate expensive, desirable sneakers with the mean streets I escaped. All the glossy advertising for them gives me the creeps.
I used to live in Northern Virginia, and every once in awhile you would see a story in the WaPo about how some kid in D.C. was injured or even killed because someone wanted his fancy new sneakers, or some fancy new jacket he was wearing.
It gets even more entertaining. From Instanpundit: FORMER IRANIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD CRITICIZES THE NFL FOR KEEPING COLIN KAEPERNICK OUT OF THE LEAGUE EVEN THOUGH ‘HE IS ONE OF THE BEST QUARTERBACKS.’
Once again the Daily Mail publishes something the US MSM wouldn’t touch with the proverbial ten-foot pole.
I don’t believe that Ahmadinejad’s tweet will go over well with Nike stockholders.
Esther
In that part of town, you could get beat up, not just for someone wanting to appropriate your branded sneakers, but because you were were wearing the wrong color of sneaker. One time I was at a bus stop in the “diverse” part of town. A black kid of middle school age asked me, “Sir, does your wearing blue athletic shoes mean that you are a member of the Crips?” I didn’t realize until then that my sneaker color could put me into the middle of gang warfare.
“I preferred the olden days, when companies stayed out of politics (on either side) for the most part, and patriotism was the name of the game. But those days are long gone and I don’t see them coming back.”
Oh no, they’re not. In fact Im sure it gets worse from here and what we had considered the United States will be confined to fly-over country as the far left takes over the coasts and turns them into Venezuela, dis-arming people as the go. Then I see them coming after us because we represent the fascist evil that keeps them together as a people and gives them a common enemy to fight to make up for the fact that it is their own policies that are making them miserable…
And it will be violent. Have no doubts about that.
From “Just Do It” to “Just Kneel” to “Just Burn “Em””
“Nike’s support of Colin Kaepernick has caused a drop in its stock prices. But Nike is all-in…”
Yes, but are their shareholders? And will they revolt. Dick’s Sporting Goods stock has not recovered since its disastrous decision to not only stop selling AR-15s but to destroy their inventory.
BTW, if you are opposed to civilian ownership of ARs I would love to have a civil conversation about it.
A cursory review of a five year record of Dick’s performance (that sounds so dirty, doesn’t it?) seems to show the already flagging stock wasn’t hurt by the decision, but neither was it helped.
I wonder if the same is true with Nike? More inquiring minds than my own will have to look into it. My next pair of athletic shoes will be Adidas, unless they do something stupid.
NEW BALANCE! Them’s the shoes, apolitical and good shoes too! My dirty white leather ones go into the wash once every 4 months and come out new yet soft…amazing, for leather ‘walking’ shoes.
The NB name says it all.
Nike has always had a black racist streak
Nike seems determined to have its customer base consist of urban black males and their white imitators, many of whom are thugs, and all bearing tattoos.
Ultimately Nike’s stock price will depend on much bigger issues than the use of any particular spokesperson (like earnings and market share). And a company like that is always going to find out everything it can about its customers and what they are like, and what they really want. (For instance, Nike does not care about me, since I buy only simple, classic styles of sneakers once every 3-4 years.)
As for New Balance, it has inadvertently become the favorite sneaker of the alt-right, after one company person praised Mr. Trump’s trade policies. Last year Barron Trump was also photographed wearing New Balance sneakers. Other alt-right favored businesses include Papa John’s and Wendy’s.
Taylor Swift is one major celebrity who has refrained from any political comments (a smart choice for her image and brand), but just do a search for “Taylor Swift Aryan goddess” and you will see a lot of people having fun with Photoshop.
Incidentally, I work for a certain undisclosed business in Freeport, ME that has a lot invested in its particular image and brand. This company was in the news this year when it changed its long-standing returns policy, but it simply had no choice, due to significant losses from customers abusing that policy.
You folks are so young. I grew up in the era of Keds, and you could get white or navy. I got a new pair at he beginning of summer each year. Life was simpler then.
Well Nike has added another reason to consider other brands of distance running shoes, unfortunately the pair I bought on Friday will last at least 3 months. After that it’s time to try another company; New Balance, Asics, etc.
Expat, when I started running Nike had just begun. Before there was a “Nike” there were Adidas, Puma, Onitsaka Tiger (now Asics) and of course Converse (which were a joke to run it).
expat, I was one of the rich kids. We got Converse.
So now the fun begins. Every Nike Swoosh is now a tag. The only comparable I can remember (and the parallels aren’t strong) is/was United Colors of Benetton. It was their schtick. Early in the label-on-the-outside crowd they were more statement than fashion, or so it seemed to me, a distant viewer. Where are they now?
Yankee says,
“As for New Balance, it has inadvertently become the favorite sneaker of the alt-right, …”
My wife is a tremendous walker with some foot problems. So once a year we drive up to Cupertino to an all New Balance shoe store where she buys two or three pairs of NB shoes and orthotics. The salesman there got her into the 990 model, which she really likes, and which he claimed is legendary in the Bay Area, because it was the only sneaker (shoe?) that Steve Jobs would wear.
Yeah, this is a risky move. There stock was at an all time high last week so maybe they think now is the time to do this but I’m not so sure. The idea of alienating a somewhat sizable piece of the market seems dicey at best.
It’s also interesting in comparison to there two biggest endorsers Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods who have done admirable jobs of staying out of politics (Tiger just last week in fact).
Wear EE. Don’t wear Nike — they don’t come that wide.
New Balance fit well, but recently their soles feel like they’re made out of plywood. No give. Found a pair of Sketchers I could get my feet into comfortably. Back in my running days, I vaguely recall wearing Asics and Brooks.
Shoe buying is a very trying when you have feet like a duck.
Doesn’t the devil wear Nike? Or am I getting my fashion styles confused?
I have a lot of trouble buying sneakers, or whatever they’re called these days. I mostly buy New Balance. Nikes never have fit me right.
I like there clothes more than the footwear. Had some shoes that squeaked when I walked and have stayed away since then. But I like my Nike pullovers a lot. And I’ve liked my Nike stock a lot. Hope they haven’t blown it.
air max 95 96 and 97 were the shoes to get for young people back in my teen years, i never had a chance to get those because they were too expensive. To fulfill this teenage desire I would buy a pair or two whenever I stumble upon a pair of those styles in an acceptable colorway and in my size on sale in a NIKE factory store or even Marshall. I have accumulated quite a collection over the years, I am pondering if I should sell them all back on ebay to some kaepernick fans or just toss them all out. many of those are worth like $100+ a pair now on ebay. They fall apart after around 15 years anyway even have never been wore.
I work out and run more than the average bear. So, I have a bunch of pairs of running shoes and workout wear, a lot of it Nike. I’m not going to burn or otherwise dispose of the items I have before they wear out. But I will not buy Nike in the future.
Who spends $100 on a pair of sneakers ?
Young black males.
I’m not sure there are that many .
no, the main sneakers buyers on ebay are rich asian kids.
besides $100 for a pair of shoes is nothing now, those yeezys cost hundreds if not thousands for some special models and get all sold out within minutes.
The left thinks, no knows, it’s won and therefore showing their true face is a means of speeding up the ultimate victory.
Despite, and maybe because of, the Trump effect, Republicans and independents are both more divided and more complacent than ever.
This will likely mean a solid victory for the left in the midterms, as Republican candidates will lack votes from both the never-Trumpers and those staying home thinking the Republican victory is assured anyway so why bother taking the time to vote.
Combine that with the independents sick and tired of both sides voting either for independent candidates certain not to win or staying home in a protest against the entire 2 party system they consider rigged against decent people, and the left, with both its organised high turnout and large amount of election fraud is looking like they have the elections in their pocket.
And if they have that, they can block anything the administration tries to do, and may even have enough power to oust the administration.
They’re already openly calling for the Trump election to be annulled, which would mean Obama would become president again retroactively from the day he left office, and ALL laws and EOs passed since would be rolled back, ALL international treaties signed by Trump null and void.
And I think they may well be right.
Sundance is out today at Conservative Tree house with a piece about the Nike controversy which looks at it from a larger perspective, that of international trade.
Sundance points out that Nike sources their shoes and clothing from many sources, but that the major source is China, and that a lot of the shoes labeled “made in China” are actually subcontracted out to sweat shops in North Korea.
If Trump is successful in resetting our trade relationships with China, and his sanctions on North Korea continue at current levels or even increase, the very lucrative deals Nike has with China will be in jeopardy.
Thus, Nike is going to do it’s bit to oppose Trump and his policies, and take a relatively small economic hit, in order to try to prevent a much larger economic hit from happening.
This is also the reason for Levis to have just come out against guns.
See https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/09/04/nike-and-levis-strauss-political-business-strategy-the-much-bigger-geopolitical-and-trade-picture/
It mostly depends on C s vedic chart whether he suceeds or fails.
“I preferred the olden days, when companies stayed out of politics (on either side) for the most part, and patriotism was the name of the game. But those days are long gone and I don’t see them coming back.”
It’s getting to the point where businesses will card people before letting in the door, like the old speakeasies. We’ll all have to carry our party ID to get in our preferred venues — but, hey, it’s too hard to get an ID to actually vote.
Snow – check out this visual on China from PowerLine’s MidWeek Pictures special edition.
https://i2.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2018/09/Nike-workers.jpeg?w=1002&ssl=1
Here’s the full thing – lots of replies to Nike, serious and comical.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/09/midweek-in-pictures-nike-edition.php
Colin K’s slanders of cops is getting people killed in minority neighborhoods by making them more dangerous. When someone starts hammering that message home, Nike will suffer. Bigly.
It seems more and more a trend that companies are wearing their politics on their sleeves, but it’s almost always leftist politics. I guess the closest we get on the right is Chick-Fil-A taking a stand on a principle, (and being a really good company to work for who makes a good product and has great service). Chick-Fil-A’s stand isn’t political, but the Left makes it political. Nike’s stand is as political as it is hollow.
I haven’t worn Nikes in 30 years or more, and I certainly won’t be now, but I’m getting really tired of having to keep track of which companies are going bat-crap insane with the SJW nonsense and who I have to avoid. I miss the days when companies competed on things like price and quality.
Since Nike made their announcement after Kaepernick won his lawsuit against the NFL, I have to wonder if they would have made the same announcement had he lost instead.
I just want to thank Nike for their bid to reelect Donald Trum in 2020 and also telling me that I need to spend my money at Adidas.
I haven’t worn Nikes in 30 years or more, and I certainly won’t be now, but I’m getting really tired of having to keep track of which companies are going bat-crap insane with the SJW nonsense and who I have to avoid. I miss the days when companies competed on things like price and quality.
Bookworm did a website to make that easier.
http://www.bookwormroom.com/2018/08/21/relaunching-what-business-thinks-know-money-goes/
She does not have an app yet unfortunately.
So, since they’re interfering with our political process, has Nike registered themselves and their employees under the Foreign Agent’s Registration Act?
https://dailycaller.com/2018/09/04/taya-kyle-colin-kaepernick/
The promotion of the former athlete, who protested racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem before the NFL games he participated in, has led to major backlash against the sports company. A boycott was started and people began posting videos of themselves burning their Nike gear. Nike stock took a heavy hit for the controversial decision Tuesday morning.
The most scathing critique of the new ad campaign, however, came from the widow of American Sniper Chris Kyle, Taya Kyle. Chris Kyle served as a Navy SEAL sniper during multiple tours in Iraq and was awarded a Silver Star and four Bronze Star Medals. Kyle was tragically killed by a mentally ill man he was mentoring in 2013.
(Kyle) “You want to talk about someone in the NFL sacrificing everything? Pat Tillman. NFL STARTING, not benched, player who left to join the Army and died for it. THAT is sacrificing everything for something you believe in.
How about other warriors? Warriors who will not be on magazine covers, who will not get lucrative contracts and millions of followers from their actions and who have truly sacrificed everything. They did it because they believed in something. Take it from me, when I say they sacrificed everything, they also sacrificed the lives of their loved ones who will never be the same. THAT is sacrificing everything for something they believe in.
Did you get us talking? Yeah, you did. But, your brand recognition was strong enough. Did you teach the next generation of consumers about true grit? Not that I can see.
Taking a stand, or rather a knee, against the flag which has covered the caskets of so many who actually did sacrifice everything for something they believe in, that we all believe in? Well, the irony of your ad..it almost leaves me speechless. Were you trying to be insulting?
Maybe you are banking on the fact we won’t take the time to see your lack of judgement in using words that just don’t fit. Maybe you are also banking on us not seeing Nike as kneeling before the flag. Or maybe you want us to see you exactly that way. I don’t know. All I know is, I was actually in the market for some new kicks and at least for now, I’ve never been more grateful for Under Armour.”