Crazy Dream Nike

[Claribel Szwaja]

Thisad has drawn a lot of attention for the use of Colin Kaepernick as the narrator. This raises a lot of questions for the marketing team at Nike on whether this was a good choice for an ad. Nike had to look at this from a profit stand point and ask themselves if jumping into such a controversial debate head first benefit them. Is Kaepernick a face that they want people to associate with their brand. Nike had to evaluate the risks and benefits of producing this ad and factor in their view on this big debate. A big question to ask is will they be able to gain enough new customers to replace the loyal customers they will lose from this ad.

Seeing that Nike's sales went up after releasing such a controversial ad must have been a sigh of relief for the marketing team at Nike. The big question is whether this was just a temporary rise or if Nike sales will continue to go up and have a long-term effect on the company. With the drop in the stock price I can imagine investors squirmed at such a bold statement coming from a powerhouse of a company like Nike.

I think that it was a bold move by Nike to air such a controversial ad. I believe that the story line behind the ad was a great idea and that the line "Dream Crazy" fits Nike and in its self was a great ad. I do think Nike could have played it safe and chosen a less controversial spokesman for the ad. I think if Nike had just stuck with using Lebron or any of the other athletes mentioned in the ad it would have been a great success. This was a bold move by Nike and hopefully it works out to be a great one for them.

When I first saw this ad, I was overwhelmed with a mixture of different feelings. Just as the blog explains, there are arguments that both sides can make strong cases for, and yet, I'm not really sure that anybody is willing to budge on their opinion of the ad. Unfortunately, I believe that the perception of the ad is taken more from peoples' feelings towards Colin Kaepernick, and not necessarily on the message of the ad. With that being said, I also think that Nike knew what they were getting themselves into when they brought Colin on to be the spokesperson for the commercial.

This commercial has a great message to it, not only for athletes, but for every single person, which is a unique direction for an athletic based company, such as Nike. They broadened their market for who they wanted this ad to reach, and in doing so made a lot of people upset and angry, while simultaneously making others feel proud to be a customer. The problem is, as stated in the blog, that not all publicity is good publicity. That being said, I believe that this ad will stay in the minds of those who are for it for a long time, while those who are against it will eventually go back to their habitual being habits and get back on the Nike bandwagon, which will then boost Nike's profits in the future.

Though I do like the overall message of the ad for athletes and non-athletes alike, I do think that Nike may have overlooked the slogan of, "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything." Like the blog says, they are a fortune 100 company, represented by a multi-millionaire. It seems to me like this ad is geared towards those chasing their dream, those who have no yet made it, yet the company is going to talk about sacrifice as they sit atop millions of dollars; that hardly seems like sacrifice to me. In fact, it seems quite hypocritical.

So, I believe that this ad, regardless of the current state, will eventually end up creating value for Nike. However, I do not necessarily agree with the use of someone like Colin, who is a very wealthy athlete and public figure, to represent such a message.

The Nike advertisement that they produced has created many questions. The main questions surround Nike's choice of using Collin Kaepernick, a black lives matter activist, as the narrator of the advertisement. Some people have gone as far as boycotting Nike for this choice. Others have burned all their Nike apparel to show their dislike of the advertisement. Some men and women support the use of Collin Kaepernick as the narrator of the advertisement and some are neutral to it all. Should Nike continue to air this advertisement with the backlash it has received? Does the ad uphold societal value? Is it still allowing Nike to be profitable?

Personally, I believe that the choice of Collin Kaepernick was a good one. He stands for a cause and is a real life example of what Nike wants their campaign to show. Kaepernick fights for equality for all americans which is a principle of which our country was formed off of. In my opinion that is something we should all be willing to get behind. I know some might not feel the same and I understand that not everyone shares the same opinion as me so let us see whether or not this is a good decision for Nike. First, we can see that since the advertisement released Nike's sales grew 31%. That should show right there that it is worth it to keep running the advertisement. Also it shows that it is creating stakeholder value. The stock did fall,but I believe it will bounce back soon. So the real question is, does the ad hold up societal values? I would have to say yes to this as well. The advertisement has a good message and is a quality, professional advertisement. The advertisement and the people in it all hold up societal values in my opinion and for that reason I conclude that this advertisement is mindful.

Nike burst onto the scene last week with the debut of their "Dream Crazy" ad to commemorate their 30th "Just do it" campaign. Many folks iterate with the NFL is not has surly heard about Keapernick and how he initiated the kneeling for the National Anthem. His silent protests started a wave across the NFL that other prominent athletes began to imitate and do the same. He actions, some believe, were the reason he is no longer in the league. This is not the first time that Nike has paired up with an athlete that has gone across the popular societal grain. They have featured Muhammend Ali in ad campaigns who was a lot voice as well when it came to social justice. When running advertising there is always a chance that you will lose or alienate consumers while also hoping to gain new ones. However, none have been as bold as Nikes most recent. When one delves deeper into the ad want cant help but feel good about the perceived message. Do sacrifice material things for something you feel is paramount and meaningful. We all, to a certain expect, can respect and understand that and really calls the viewers to internalize and look inward on our ourselves. Will Nike lose customers? Yes. Will they gain new ones? Probably. Nike is also betting on the longterm view. They are looking forward to the next 30 years and want to be on the right side of history and hope that in 30 years some of the more intimate details in peoples memories will fade and much like their Ali feature they will be known for their boldness and forward thinking advertising despite popular culture. ON the other hand Nike might need to look at their own self and take their own advice. Nike has numbers manufacturing facilities in other countries with low paying wages, child labor and very poor living conditions. If Nike really believed their own ad why wouldn't they increase and elevate their own processes with better working conditions and wages. No company is ever perfect or without faults and if looking closely enough one can find faults with any brand or company or person.

Mindful marketing is more than creating a solid ad it's creating an ad that represents your company wholly, not simply what you want people to believe or what you wish to represent. While this campaign is mindful to a certain extent I think Nike can still do more.

I believe what Nike did with Kaepernick was a smart marketing decision and beneficial to both parties. Obviously he has tremendous controversy surrounding him and Nike decided that taking on that controversy would be worth that controversy. And boy were they right. as mentioned here Nike's sales were up tremendously when compared to last years numbers during the same time period. The goal of almost all marketing is to create value and get more people to purchase your product and Nike accomplished this goal. In addition this add has brought with it an insane amount of talk about the company. When two people disagree about Kaepernick and are able to have a constructive conversation about it they end up inevitable talking about Nike and it is always good to have people thinking about your company. The one concern was their share price which recently hit an all time high, so it is a concern no longer.

I believe this is mindful marketing because Nike is creating value for their customer by showing that pro athletes still use their stuff and they are upholding societal values by supporting someone who fights against social injustice.

Some would consider the usage of Colin Kaepernick for a Nike ad as a sporting goods brand at this point in time would be a bit outdated. Colin has been out of the league for several years now and he has become basically irrelevant in the sports world. However, Nike is more than just a brand for sporting goods and athletic wear. Nike is so big of a world brand that it has say and power in the world of social issues and politics. Nike promotes a very progressive image and who better to have frontline their advertisements than Colin Kaepernick, perhaps the most controversial figure in the world of sports politics in the past ten years. As a company Nike strives to be the most modern and progressive out of all brands in the world in order to stay seen as the number one sports brand position that they hold.

I believe this is mindful marketing by Nike, as criticisms will be short-term and overall they will continue their reign as the most successful sportswear brand in the world by pushing their progressive agenda.

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