Posted on 09/07/2018 6:03:15 AM PDT by Kaslin
It is hard to fathom that there really exists a body of public opinion that supports Nike's decision to make former NFL star Colin Kaepernick the center of its new "Believe in something" advertising campaign. This is the fellow who believes in wearing socks depicting cops as pigs and wears a pro-Fidel Castro T-shirt because he believes that under that murderous dictator, Cuba was a better country than his own, perhaps because he believes his country was founded on slavery and the "genocide of Native Americans."
Washington Post sports columnist Barry Svrluga gushed over the ad, saying: "Nike did what the NFL hasn't been able to do: It chose a side. That it happened to be correct is all the better."
The full slogan Nike is unveiling is especially obnoxious when Kaepernick's name is attached to it: "Believe is something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." He's a pampered multimillionaire athlete, and even though his career is all but over, he still somehow commands a contract reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars. There's sacrifice for you. You wonder what the families of fallen police officers are thinking right now.
The inmates are running the asylum. This decision was beyond idiotic, and Nike deserves the punishment it's receiving.
Nike's calculation is that what Kaepernick brings exceeds the money he's being paid, for surely he has a following in America's fractured society. But enough to generate tens of millions of dollars in new sales to balance the books?
Oops. Make that tens of millions plus $3,750,000,000. In one day, Nike lost almost $4 billion in valuation because of this, according to The Wrap.
This decision has backfired so badly it should be made a case study in The Stupidest Marketing Plan Ever Devised.
The public relations mess it has created is one for the books. A new Morning Consult survey of thousands of people showed that Nike's favorability has collapsed. Before the announcement, Nike had a net +69 favorable impression among consumers, which has dropped 34 points to +35 favorable. And get this: "Among younger generations, Nike users, African Americans, and other key demographics, Nike's favorability declined rather than improved." The internet is ablaze in disgust. Actually, it's people's shoes that are being set on fire all over the country and posted on social media.
Worse still, this disaster isn't going to blow over, as Nike's panicked marketing department is surely praying will happen. Every single time the public sees this arrogant, disgraceful ingrate's face on a Nike ad, the determination not to purchase that company's products will only grow.
This is just another day at the office for that mess known as the NFL, once so embraced by the public and today held in disdain. It's everything about it. It's the spoiled players. The cowardly owners. The left-wing broadcasters. And now, with the NFL having signed a 10-year deal with Nike to make it an official sponsor, it's the advertisers. It's full-scale rot.
And as a result, the numbers continue to plummet. Preseason ratings are down yet again. Sports Media Watch reported that NFL preseason viewership was down 9 percent across NBC, CBS, Fox, ESPN and the NFL Network. Strangely, the Cleveland Browns drew a higher audience. Without the Browns games, preseason viewership crashed 18 percent.
Viewers who did bother tuning in saw a lot of empty seats in the stands as well. The Sunday-night game on Aug. 26 featuring the Dallas Cowboys was the team's least-watched broadcast on a network since 2009. A game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals that same day was the least-watched preseason matchup on Fox since 2008.
A recent poll commissioned at the Media Research Center found that 75 percent agreed with the statement "When I watch live sports or entertainment shows on television I am trying to get away from politics and do not want to be bombarded with partisan political messages."
What do you think that 75 percent thinks now? What will those people think every time they see a Nike commercial celebrating this man? Truth is, many won't see that ad, because they'll no longer be watching the NFL.
"Believe in something really offensive. Even if it means sacrificing everything, including your own company. And the NFL, while you're at it" -- that would have been a far more accurate tag line.
Burn baby burn!
(A saying by LA and NY soul DJ Magnificent Montague which got picked up by Watts rioters.He disowned the phrase after the violence and turned it into Learn Baby Learn)
Fantastic post!!! Thank you.
Get bling here.
https://em.constitution.com/ga/webviews/4-233575825-2153-300098-371013-658582-f608f7f5eb
“””National boycott of the NFL for Sunday November 12th, Veterans Day Weekend. Boycott all football telecast, all fans, all ticket holders, stay away from attending any games, let them play to empty stadiums.”””
Thanks for posting. For those who did not read to the end, I pasted the money line again.
Kapernick sacrificed a salary for maybe four or five years.
My niece posted a meme on facebook. A little black boy looking up. The caption “Mommy why are they burning Nikes shoes?”
Answer “Because they ran out of crosses”
This is what passes for humor on the left.
My answer is simple. You guys have the “funny” memes, we have two Supreme Court judges.
A fair balance.
The day Nike announced their support of Colin and his organization, I went and bought a pairs of Adidas that came close to $300.
Not only did Nike NOT get my business. A competitor did and will continue to. That's the beauty of capitalism.
Also Adidas was on the ball enough to know that day and the following ones were going to be heaven for them and their brand. As a proven purchaser of athletic shoes, Adidas sent me several email advertisements the day of Nike's announcement. Brilliant move. Suddenly I wanted to purchase athletic shoes.
Adidas was the only shoe company sending out their emails. Just goes to show how on the ball they are.
Nike’s gonna make it up in volume as they’ve re-defined their market as Urban Thugs. Problem is, they don’t buy their shoes, they steal them at gunpoint.
I’ve just bought a pair of New Balance 990s (made in America). The Nike Pegasus running shoes I bought in July - the shoe I’ve used for decades - is going back to Nike with a copy of their ad & the comment, “I spent 25 years in the military. I believe in something - that I’ll never spend another dollar on Nike!”
I’ve never bought anything from NIKE.
I think that corporations and Democrats have a tacit agreement: big money promises to support the social agenda of the Left, and in return, big government lets them keep most of their money thanks to generous loopholes in the tax code.
Some say it doesn't matter as they are trying to redefine the brand to attract and nurture a younger, specific audience/clientele. But this reasoning is not holding water. Many in the age and race group that they were hoping to lasso were just as turned off as the rest of the masses.
Not only did they gut the brand identity, they failed to appeal to and impress the base they were working to attract. Massive fail and they deserve all the consequences of their decision.
They also strengthened the resolve of those already not happy with the NFL to continue and/or participate in the NFL boycott in the coming season. Nike and the NFL have a contract for the coming year. Now they are both reinforcing each others fail. :D What a case study in corporate marketing failure.
I love your post. Perfect!!!
C’mon, stop making jokes and calling us Shirly
This is HUGH and SERIES
All that would be great for them if it were working. In the Nike case it isn’t. It only backfired bigly ;D.
Yes, and it’s encouraging to know that there’s enough sanity left in America that when political correctness pushes the envelope too far, their BS sometimes blows up in their faces.
Roger: A Legend in Everyone’s Mind
Colon: A Legend in His Own Mind
Outstanding!!! And thank you for your service. Enjoy those 990s!! ;D
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.