The NFL and the National Anthem

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I suspect the people burning Nike's will look at that ad, buy more Nike's, and burn them too.
I imagine that in order to show just how outraged you really are, you'd have to buy and burn the newest, most expensive Nike stuff.
 

Kliq

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The ad is good; but the use of Kaepernick seems like just a way to draw attention to the brand and not that Nike is releasing a powerful statement about courage. The commercial would feel basically the same if LeBron, JJ Watt or Jose Altuve was the narrator instead. In some ways, I think a more effective use of Kaepernick would be if LeBron was narrating it, and he talked about Kaepernick taking a knee, instead of Kaepernick narrating about athletes that defied the odds.
 

Marciano490

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The ad is good; but the use of Kaepernick seems like just a way to draw attention to the brand and not that Nike is releasing a powerful statement about courage. The commercial would feel basically the same if LeBron, JJ Watt or Jose Altuve was the narrator instead. In some ways, I think a more effective use of Kaepernick would be if LeBron was narrating it, and he talked about Kaepernick taking a knee, instead of Kaepernick narrating about athletes that defied the odds.
No. The point is they gave the contract and money to Kaepernick.
 

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The ad is good; but the use of Kaepernick seems like just a way to draw attention to the brand and not that Nike is releasing a powerful statement about courage. The commercial would feel basically the same if LeBron, JJ Watt or Jose Altuve was the narrator instead. In some ways, I think a more effective use of Kaepernick would be if LeBron was narrating it, and he talked about Kaepernick taking a knee, instead of Kaepernick narrating about athletes that defied the odds.
I liked the way @Dehere said it.
 

Marciano490

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Yeah, to draw attention to the brand.
Well, it’s a commercial. I also think it’s to define the brand and position it. In that sense, signing Kaepernick does things using LeBron wouldn’t have.
 

Import78

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Apologies if too V&N. This made me laugh.
My favorite part of this is that the guy burning shoes because of the athlete who knelt for the anthem and so disrespected the flag is in clear violation of the Flag Code. 176 (d) to be precise (bolded mine):
  • (d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.
 

The Mort Report

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My favorite part of this is that the guy burning shoes because of the athlete who knelt for the anthem and so disrespected the flag is in clear violation of the Flag Code. 176 (d) to be precise (bolded mine):
  • (d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.
The guy that made that video made it as a complete joke making fun of the people burning Nike gear and the shirt was just to show how stupid the people are. The shoes weren't even Nikes, the shirt is funny and if you notice hes actually wearing Nike shoes
 

Hendu for Kutch

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On the one hand, there is definitely a vapor trail somewhere in the sky above Import78 where that video went flying right over his head. On the other hand, the line between real and parody is so close nowadays that I get missing it. I thought it was real when it started, and I don't doubt that there are real videos that don't stray too far from that parody.
 

Dehere

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This was forwarded to me this morning and I'm just going to leave it here without comment for anyone interested. I believe this research was highlighted in today's WSJ:


First Poll Shows Nike's Favorability Dropping Double Digits Following New 'Just Do It' Campaign with Colin Kaepernick

Americans Weigh in on Kaepernick Advertisement in First Poll Following Nike's Announcement

New York, NY (September 6, 2018) - In an exclusive new report, Morning Consult is the first to reveal how Nike's decision to include former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as the face of its new "Just Do It" campaign is affecting the company's reputation and bottom line. Ahead of Thursday's regular season kickoff game, the report also sheds light on how the ad could affect NFL viewership.

Morning Consult surveyed 8,000 adult consumers to gauge awareness of the new "Just Do It" campaign and how it is affecting the company's brand.

The results show that Americans are not just hearing negative news about Nike - they say they are now significantly less likely to have a favorable view of the brand and less likely to purchase Nike products.

Highlights:

Nike's Reputation Takes A Hit Overall and Across Key Demographics

Morning Consult interviewed 1,694 adult consumers in the U.S. before Nike's announcement (8/26/18 - 9/3/18) and 5,481 after (9/4/18 - 9/5/18) through Morning Consult Intelligence, the company's brand management platform.

· Negative Buzz Jumped For Consumers: Before Nike announced former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick as the face of its new ad campaign, only 2% of Americans reported hearing something negative about Nike recently. That number jumped to 33% following the announcement.
· Nike's Favorability Dropped Double Digits: Before the announcement, Nike had a net +69 favorable impression (76% favorable, 7% unfavorable) among consumers, its reputation has now declined 34 points to +35 favorable (60% favorable, 24% unfavorable).
o
§ Among key demographics
§ By Generation: Nike saw the largest declines among older adults. By generation, perceptions of Nike are now lowest among Boomers (+68 favorability pre, +20 post), and most positive among Gen Z (age 18-21), despite a 30-point decline (+81 pre, +51 post)
§ African Americans Under 35: Net favorability has declined 14 percentage points among this group (+79 Pre, +65 Post).
§ Nike Customers: Favorability among current Nike users declined from +91 favorable to +76 favorable

· Purchasing Consideration Also Down: Before the announcement, about half of Americans said they were absolutely certain or very likely to buy Nike products. That figure is down to 39% now. Before the announcement, 13% said they were not likely to purchase something from Nike. That figure has increased to three in 10 adults (29%).
o Among key demographics:
§ By Generation: Boomers saw a large negative shift in purchasing consideration (38% absolutely certain or very likely pre, 28% post). Respondents in Generation X also saw a large decline (58% pre, 47% post)
§ Nike Users: Before, eight in 10 (80%) Nike users say they were absolutely certain or very likely to purchase a Nike product in the future. That figure declines to 72% in the post data.

Americans Divided on Nike's Selection of Colin Kaepernick as Face of "Just Do It" Campaign, Nike Customers Generally Support Decision

Morning Consult conducted a study among 1,168 adults in the U.S. about Nike's ad and the decision to choose Kaepernick as the face of its new campaign.
· Americans Split on Kaepernick as Nike Ad Spokesperson, Nike Customers Generally Support Decision: 39% of consumers said it was appropriate for Nike to select Kaepernick as the face of their campaign, while 38% said inappropriate.
o Fifty percent of those who said they wear Nike at least once a month support the decision, compared with 30% who do not.
o 49% of millennials said Nike's decision is was appropriate, compared to 29% who said inappropriate.
o 63% of African Americans said Nike's decision is appropriate, compared to 14% who said inappropriate.
· 38% said Nike's announcement was a publicity stunt, while 32% said it was mostly an effort to recognize Kaepernick's actions (30% don't know).

The Effect on the NFL Seems Small, For Now

Ahead of the regular season kickoff game on Thursday night, when Nike plans to debut the Kaepernick ad, Morning Consult's survey suggests that the impact of the ad on the NFL's viewership will be minimal for now.
· Forty percent of consumers said Nike's announcement does not make them more or less likely to watch or attend NFL games - 21% said more likely and 26% said less likely (14% didn't know).
o 45% of African Americans said Nike's announcement made them more likely to watch or attend NFL games, 18% said it made them less likely, and 28% said it had no effect either way.
o 25% of millennials said it made them more likely, 26% said less likely and 41% said no effect either way.

The full report is available at the following link:https://morningconsult.com/form/nike-kaepernick-report/
 

InstaFace

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§ By Generation: Nike saw the largest declines among older adults. By generation, perceptions of Nike are now lowest among Boomers (+68 favorability pre, +20 post), and most positive among Gen Z (age 18-21), despite a 30-point decline (+81 pre, +51 post)
§ African Americans Under 35: Net favorability has declined 14 percentage points among this group (+79 Pre, +65 Post).
§ Nike Customers: Favorability among current Nike users declined from +91 favorable to +76 favorable
This all boggles my mind - the magnitude of the drop among Boomers (Who knew they cared beforehand?), the 30-point decline with The Kids, and especially the decline among African Americans (like, who do you think Kaepernick was metaphorically standing up for?).
 

RedOctober3829

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One interesting (to me anyway) point on this is that many colleges and universities are "Nike" schools and have contracts with Nike. There will be all sorts of athletes that disagree with this or are not in favor of Kap that will be forced to wear Nike gear because of these contracts.

Will student athletes seek to go to certain schools because they love this decision and would now prefer to support Nike and Kap, while others try to move away from Nike schools?

What will Nike colleges that are more conservative and lean anti-Kap (or to put it in terms they'd prefer, pro- anthem, pro-police, pro-military) do? Will they seek to get out of their contracts with Nike? This will be fascinating to watch, IMO.
http://collegead.com/liberty-university-81/

"Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of Liberty University and a close ally of President Trump, told USA TODAY Sports in a phone conversation Friday that Nike’s ad campaign centered around Colin Kaepernick might cause the school to re-consider its relationship with the apparel company, which signed a contract last year to outfit Liberty’s athletic teams through 2024."
 

johnmd20

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http://collegead.com/liberty-university-81/

"Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of Liberty University and a close ally of President Trump, told USA TODAY Sports in a phone conversation Friday that Nike’s ad campaign centered around Colin Kaepernick might cause the school to re-consider its relationship with the apparel company, which signed a contract last year to outfit Liberty’s athletic teams through 2024."
Absolutely. You cannot respectfully protest and expect a high quality person like Falwell Jr. not to take action.
 

reggiecleveland

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I am less cynical. Nike may have known they can get away with this, and want to make social comment.

But cynically, Also it may help in signing pro athletes to show they stood by the athletes not the owners. Better optics than sweat shops.

I made an effort not to buy NIke just because I have so much Nike stuff. But a visit to outlet mall and the selection and quality is only really challenged by UA, and even then not in shoes.

Nike has 10 of the 14 SEC football schools. Are fans of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt going to burn their hoodies?
 

BaseballJones

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http://collegead.com/liberty-university-81/

"Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of Liberty University and a close ally of President Trump, told USA TODAY Sports in a phone conversation Friday that Nike’s ad campaign centered around Colin Kaepernick might cause the school to re-consider its relationship with the apparel company, which signed a contract last year to outfit Liberty’s athletic teams through 2024."
What's surprising to me there is not Falwell's comments, but rather that Liberty has a Nike contract in the first place. I don't think of Liberty being that big or influential of a school to warrant Nike's interest, but I guess I'm clearly wrong about that. Nike probably wants contracts with anyone and everyone.
 

The Needler

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What's surprising to me there is not Falwell's comments, but rather that Liberty has a Nike contract in the first place. I don't think of Liberty being that big or influential of a school to warrant Nike's interest, but I guess I'm clearly wrong about that. Nike probably wants contracts with anyone and everyone.
Yeah, I think pretty much every FBS school they’re willing to at least offer uniforms and equipment, which I’m sure is about as much as Liberty gets. I’m sure Nike wouldn’t cry too many tears if it had to stop giving the school free stuff. These contracts generally contain clauses permitting Nike to terminate for various reasons, including any disparag,ent of the brand by the school. I’d love to see Nike invoke that clause and proactively end the relationship.
 

reggiecleveland

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There are Canadian universities that have 3000 seat arenas and no games on TV with Nike contracts. If you are the biggest fish in your pond they want you wearing their stuff.
 

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Bracketing whether or not Nike's strategy will succeed, having Liberty University drop them would be wholly consistent with their strategy to the point that they might as well be working for Nike.
 

RedOctober3829

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What's surprising to me there is not Falwell's comments, but rather that Liberty has a Nike contract in the first place. I don't think of Liberty being that big or influential of a school to warrant Nike's interest, but I guess I'm clearly wrong about that. Nike probably wants contracts with anyone and everyone.
Nike has different levels of a deal with many FBS and FCS schools. "Having a Nike contract" doesn't necessarily mean that a school like Liberty gets what Alabama or Ohio State gets. It could mean they get a few dollars from Nike and certain discounts through a vendor or they could go direct to Nike.
 

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Nike has different levels of a deal with many FBS and FCS schools. "Having a Nike contract" doesn't necessarily mean that a school like Liberty gets what Alabama or Ohio State gets. It could mean they get a few dollars from Nike and certain discounts through a vendor or they could go direct to Nike.
OK, you got me thinking about Liberty's deal and I went digging and found something interesting:

What if Liberty wants to make a move to become a major football brand for a certain demographic niche?

FOXSports: College Football: Why Liberty is paying $1.32 million for Old Dominion game
Liberty agreed to pay Old Dominion $1.32 million to host a 2018 season opener between the schools. Why might the Flames make such an investment?

Liberty, the evangelical Christian university founded by Jerry Falwell in 1971, is bringing the Flames football team up to the FBS level in two years. The school wanted to face a fellow FBS opponent in its first home game at the highest level of college football. And a recent Virginian-Pilot report revealed just how much the Flames had to spend to make that happen. It is worth digging into whether this was a smart deal by the university.

. . .

Since its founding nearly a half-century ago, Liberty University has slowly grown into the largest evangelical Christian university in the world. Last fall, the largest incoming class of freshmen in school history increased the resident population on the Lynchburg campus to around 15,000 undergraduate students. The school also offers academic services to another 6,800 graduate students and more than 100,000 students through its online programs.

Liberty football has nowhere near the history or success rate of a school like Notre Dame or BYU, the other two independent Christian campuses that play at the FBS level. But its enrollment is higher than Notre Dame, and catching up to BYU. It outpaces other religious universities like Baylor, TCU, and SMU in that regard as well.
Here's Liberty's press release on their Nike deal signed in 2017, for anyone interested. Standard, but kinda funny in the way all PR pieces are after a falling out.

Edit:

Wait--what??
Yahoo!Sports: Former Baylor AD Ian McCaw hired by Jerry Falwell's Liberty University
Ian McCaw, who resigned as the Baylor's athletic director in May in the wake of a domestic and sexual assault scandal, has been named the AD at Liberty University.

The university, founded by Jerry Falwell, sent out a media release announcing the hiring.

“Ian’s success really speaks for itself,” said Jerry Falwell Jr., the university president. “You look at what Baylor was able to do during his tenure, it fits perfectly with where we see our sports programs going. This is an exciting time for us.”
Forfucksake.
 

americantrotter

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Having attended Radford (Liberty rival in basketball and all around immoral public school) I can attest that the sport culture at Liberty is strong. Radford too has a Nike contract. Nike knows how to corner the market on hot spots.

Back to Liberty. Their desires as a school will only be furthered towards football with this anthem controversy in the NFL. Money wise they put their money where their mouth is towards their goals.

They offered me unbidden a scholarship that was a 75% ride weeks before the end of my senior year. They wanted numbers. The size and scope of that school matter more to them than your average school.
 

Devizier

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The fact that polling outfits are even *asking* people about how they feel about Nike -- a by now fairly staid brand that blends into the background of American life -- is probably a good indicator that the advertising campaign achieved what they want to.

My general opinion of polls is that they are worthless, with the exception of candidate preference polls somewhere close to an election.
 

eustis22

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does Liberty even HAVE a football team of sexual assaulters??? I mean, sex is BAD there, right?
 

ifmanis5

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I wonder how many times Roger has asked Trump to stop tweeting about this?
Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump
Wow, NFL first game ratings are way down over an already really bad last year comparison. Viewership declined 13%, the lowest in over a decade. If the players stood proudly for our Flag and Anthem, and it is all shown on broadcast, maybe ratings could come back? Otherwise worse!

UPDATE: Shefty says there is no anthem policy this season:
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24622089/nfl-not-expected-implement-new-national-anthem-policy-season
The NFL is not expected to implement a new policy on the national anthem this season, league sources told ESPN, no matter how many meetings and conversations occur regarding the topic.

The new policy is going to be no policy -- at least for this season, according to sources.
 
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johnmd20

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Trump playing this game is disreputable. I can't believe people buy this propaganda. Maybe not every Republican is an idiot, but every Trump fan is definitely an idiot.
 

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So, maybe someone at Nike figured out that their goal isn't just to be popular but to make money?
 

HomeRunBaker

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I posted this in a discussion thread on FB (shoot me I know). Figured I'd share here to elicit thoughts.....

Their continued growth in India, Latin America and Asia has been driving their growth story for years now with the US being so heavily saturated and I feel this is a huge Asia play for them. Here is what I see happening...….the NBA is ridiculously huge in these overseas markets. You are going to see NBA stars who support this cause (which is the large majority) flock to Nike once their existing shoe deals are up. Nike is going to OWN the China market, which some project to surpass the US as the worlds largest economy within the next 15 years, once this shift of NBA stars begins. From my seat it looks like Nike is giving the NFL and Goodell a gigantic F-U as the NBA is the worlds fastest growing sport......Nike is leveraging Kaepernick and the NFL to ultimately destroy all competitors in India, Latin America and especially China with the NBA brand. They don't give two craps about what this does to the NFL which is why they strategically timed this release, which is why I strongly disagree with Sean that this wasn't highly calculated.
Sorkin pretty much summed up on Friday my exact position. Nike waited until they got the 8-year deal with the NFL done. Revenue from every angle. This company is dirty freakin brilliant.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/07/sorkin-nike-kaepernick-ad-based-on-attracting-big-name-athletes.html
 

Salem's Lot

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All I see are memes based on the ad. It's viral and that has to be good for Nike.
That ad campaign was a stroke of marketing genius. Nothing makes their key demo of under 25 years olds want to run out and buy their products more than when old angry white dudes are screaming that they should be boycotted.
 

DourDoerr

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My wife watches football with me and said this morning - out of the blue - she wants to buy a pair of Nike's. Never has really cared one way or another about the brand, but the Kaepernick ad and reaction to it prompted her.
 

reggiecleveland

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My sister was in marketing and said some Nike execs spoke around 2007 or so about the sweatshop problem and how NIke improved conditions in factories. She was a bit shocked how the moral side of child labour, but rather "we were getting killed on this issue" was the focus of the talk. What sticks with me is she said the people protesting were not really Nike buyers, but were hurting market share. They said they hoped someday to figure out how to get the "social justice crowd" to buy Nike.

Maybe they did.
 

Import78

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My sister was in marketing and said some Nike execs spoke around 2007 or so about the sweatshop problem and how NIke improved conditions in factories. She was a bit shocked how the moral side of child labour, but rather "we were getting killed on this issue" was the focus of the talk. What sticks with me is she said the people protesting were not really Nike buyers, but were hurting market share. They said they hoped someday to figure out how to get the "social justice crowd" to buy Nike.

Maybe they did.
I'll just leave this here, your post made me think of it again. It's been a long time since I heard this. Thanks for the laughs.

 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Leaving in a bit to the studio :)

“I didn’t give in to big Nike and big dollars. I didn’t give in. I did it my way,” he told News5.

“That part of the military respect that’s in me just cannot be sacrificed or compromised, as I believe Brandon Marshall and Colin Kaepernick both did. I don’t like losing a business over it, but I rather be able to live with myself,” he added.

EDIT: comments on the owner's FB post are an interesting read. Many of his supporters reference The Lord in their comments (tho not referenced at all in the owner's OP). Many also sending sincere T&P, but it doesn't appear any of them has set up a GoFundMe yet.


https://www.face book.com/stephen.martin.77582359/posts/2521860064497802
 
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johnmd20

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Man, good for Kaep. He stuck to his principles. He didn't have to stay in the meat grinder that is the NFL. And now he's got riches. It's a shame it's confidential, but I'm happy for Kaep.