Two years later, what has America learned from Nike’s blockbuster Colin Kaepernick ad?
Nike one of the most recognized and reputable brands in the world, aired an ad causing the world to react when the brand released a controversial ad featuring NFL free agent Colin Kaepernick. The scene opens with Colin walking. He then states, “So don’t ask if your dreams are crazy, ask if they’re crazy enough.” This is not the first time Nike waded into controversial territory with its ads. Nike has learned from its past to turn an emotional national conversation into dollars. Video is the platform it uses to make the dollar magic happen. And their strategy has paid off because in September of 2019 the controversial Nike commercial featuring former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick won a Creative Arts Emmy for best commercial. Go figure!
So it has been 2 years since Kaepernick sparked a movement within the NFL after he took a knee during the national anthem at a 2016 game to protest suppression and police brutality in America. Trump and Trump’s supporters argued against Colin and what he stood for. Trump went as far as to say, “get that son of a ***** off the field right now, out, he’s fired.” But at one point in 2017 more than 200 NFL players knelt, sat, or raised their fists during the anthem. Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 becoming a free agent. To date, Kaepernick has not been signed by another team and claims that the NFL owners colluded against him to ruin his career. At the time of this article, Kaepernick been since working as an activist, reportedly donating over 1 million dollars to charity.
The internet went into an uproar when Kaepernick posted a Nike ad on Twitter with the words, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” People who were strongly against Kaepernick announced their intentions to boycott the brand on social media. Within the next day shares of Nike stock dropped roughly 3.2%. While it seemed like the Colin Kaepernick/Nike campaign could have destroyed the brand, it ended up working in its favor.
In the days after the ad launched, the company’s online sales jumped more than 25%. This is primarily because advocates and followers of Kaepernick and Nike’s message banded together to buy more Nike gear. Supporters like Nick Cannon use their money and platform to purchase Nike gear and give it to the homeless. Nike has historically taken a stand on issues and it’s almost always resulted in a rise in sales. In fact, the boycott and controversy earned $6 million for Nike. 30 years before Nike sparked awareness with its “Just Do It” campaign and it seems history has repeated itself.
The country remains divided over the Nike ad and Kaepernick’s protest but in the long-run Kaepernick is a marketing and merchandise selling machine. And by using video and the media Nike hit a homerun, (rather a touchdown) using a controversial NFL free agent, a passionate message, a brilliant marketing strategy, and a whole lot of courage. The use of video is a powerful tool not to be taken lightly. But if used wisely video can create magic, a message, and an enormous amount of profit.
