This may come as a shock to you but when Nike aired its highly controversial 30th anniversary advertisement of the “Just Do It” slogan featuring embattled former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the sports apparel brand added $26.2 billion to the company’s net worth.
If you were on social media the week that commercial aired then you probably saw the thousands of people boycotting Nike and burning gear. But sometimes Nike is just cheaper than the rest and many buy it specifically for that reason. Nevertheless, the worldwide apparel brand took a huge risk by using Kaepernick as the face of the 30th anniversary ad.
But Nike is taking another huge gamble by planning this Kaepernick event just in time for Christmas in December.
“Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they’re crazy enough.” Colin Kaepernick obnoxiously adds to the button of a 30th anniversary Nike commercial for the “Just Do It” slogan.
It might be the biggest eye-roll in the history of commercials. Not only is it virtue signaling like the disgraced San Francisco 49ers quarterback is the second-coming of Martin Luther King Jr.; like he’s a martyr, but it’s also obnoxiously asking its audience to choose between sports and your country.
And that Nike commercial just won an Emmy Award for outstanding commercial on Sunday at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
It beat out impressive ads for Netflix as well as Apple’s MacBook , iPhone XS and Sandy Hook Promise.
Following this advertisement, Nike raised eyebrows again when they planned a release of a Betsy Ross flag tribute shoe, but Kaepernick’s camp wasn’t happy about it because they said her flag was designed when slavery was going on.
Nike canceled all plans to release the shoe as a result.
Now the company plans to unveil its new Kaepernick shoe just in time for Christmas.
Nike introduced a Kaepernick “Icon” jersey last year and reported selling out of the item almost immediately. The “Icon” jersey sold for $150 apiece when introduced in 2018. Although to be fair, nobody knows just how many jerseys Nike actually made. It shouldn’t surprise anybody if it was a limited release in order to drive up prices.
Former Kaepernick teammate and current Carolina Panthers safety, Eric Reid, posted a picture of the new shoe design for the upcoming holiday release.
Will this have a negative affect on Nike? It might not but it’s still a huge gamble. Kaepernick’s reputation has dwindled over the last several months and it seems like he and his team are trying to keep his relevancy afloat.
They’ve posted videos of his workouts and on the three-year anniversary of the first time he kneeled for the National Anthem; Kaepernick posted a video of harrowing police brutality against minorities.
And then the NFL sanctioned a “private” workout for Kaepernick two Saturdays ago to see if there was any interest amongst teams who wanted to hire him.
Although there was chatter that teams were allegedly interested, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter, no teams have contacted him about filling out their roster.
Kaepernick’s popularity is dwindling and that’s why Nike should think twice again before keeping him on its payroll.