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Just Blew It: Nike Favorability Drops by Double-Digits

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Well, in their infinite wisdom, Nike decided to make former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick the face of their Just Do It campaign. The ad has been released. The tagline is “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt.” Kaepernick is a source of controversy, a vehicle for the left wing social justice activism that struck the NFL two years ago when he started to take a knee during the national anthem. There were a multitude of reasons but race relations and police brutality seem to be the top issues for why he and other players started this nonsense. No doubt the cause is worth a discussion. I totally disagree with their take, but it’s worthy of a discussion. All that good will went out the window as soon as you start trashing the flag. Kaepernick’s anti-police stance also drew a backlash. These players see their side getting attention. Everyone else sees them trashing the flag, our veterans, and those who have died in service to the country. It’s unpatriotic. It’s not appropriate—and the NFL knows it. When President Trump torched the players for kneeling, he won a solid cultural victory.

So, with Nike becoming more or less a hipster brand, they put this left wing activist as the face of their new campaign. How did it fare? It cost them billions as market shares tanked upon its announcement. It cost them billions, though it’s not going to sink the company. It did, however, cause the net favorability of Nike to drop by double-digits and no boosts were registered within key demographics for the brand. That’s, uh, not good. Quite a hefty loss for trying to keep Kaepernick relevant Morning Consult has the numbers:

Nike’s Favorability Drops by Double Digits: Before the announcement, Nike had a net +69 favorable impression among consumers; it has now declined 34 points to +35 favorable.

No Boost Among Key Demos: Among younger generations, Nike users, African Americans, and other key demographics, Nike’s favorability declined rather than improved.

Purchasing Consideration Also Down: Before the announcement, 49 percent of Americans said they were absolutely certain or very likely to buy Nike products. That figure is down to 39 percent now.

(Read more from “Just Blew It: Nike Favorability Drops by Double-Digits” HERE)

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UFC Champ Goes on Vulgar Tirade Against Nike Over Kaepernick Deal

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Nike’s decision this week to launch an advertising campaign praising quarterback — and national anthem protester — Colin Kaepernick has sparked much criticism, and even calls for a boycott of the company.

Within the sports world, however, Nike has faced very little pushback. That’s not surprising; Nike has sponsorship deals with so many high-profile athletes as well as numerous professional and college teams that Nike isn’t going to be singled out by most athletes, even if they disagree with Kaepernick’s stance on the anthem.

But one champion athlete isn’t holding in back his criticism of Nike or Kaepernick, who is featured in the Nike ad as saying, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Mixed martial arts fighter Colby Covington, currently the UFC interim welterweight champion, went on Twitter to rip the company and using an expletive to describe Kaepernick.

“I grew up in Oregon and was around Nike my whole life,” Covington said, referring to the state where Nike’s corporate offices are located. “It’s funny watching a company that uses child slave labor overseas to make their products all of sudden become humanitarians.”

Covington then said former NFL player Pat Tillman — who walked away from a lucrative contract in pro football to join the military in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and was eventually killed during his service — was much more of a hero when compared to Kaepernick because Tillman truly gave the ultimate sacrifice for what he believed in.

It’s worth noting that UFC is sponsored by Reebok, a fierce competitor of Nike.

But Covington’s public display of patriotism, as well as his support of President Donald Trump, are well documented.

Last month, Covington posed with President Donald Trump at the White House with the UCF championship belt — a belt he promised he would bring to the White House if he won the welterweight championship in June after Covington ripped championship athletes from other sports for not wanting to visit the White House.

Covington has also made it clear that he has no tolerance for anyone who uses the anthem as a platform for protest.

Covington won the interim championship in June by defeating Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225.

Covington’s reign as interim welterweight championship comes to an end this weekend at UFC 228. He is unable to defend his title due to injury, so the winner of Saturday’s bout between Tyron Woodley and Darren Till will become the new welterweight champion. (For more from the author of “UFC Champ Goes on Vulgar Tirade Against Nike Over Kaepernick Deal” please click HERE)

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College Kicks Nike to the Curb: ‘If Nike Is Ashamed of America, We Are Ashamed of Them’

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A new ad by Nike featuring former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been causing quite a stir around the nation. For one college, however, it was the final straw and the educational institution is now cutting ties with the sports apparel company.

According to Yahoo, the private Christian school The College of the Ozarks announced that they will be ending their affiliation with Nike due to the recent ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick.

The new ad features the quarterback with a line that reads, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Jerry Davis, the president of the college, said that the new ads promote a disrespect for the United States.

“In their new ad campaign, we believe Nike executives are promoting an attitude of division and disrespect toward America,” he said.

“If Nike is ashamed of America, we are ashamed of them,” he continued. “We also believe that those who know what sacrifice is all about are more likely to be wearing a military uniform than an athletic uniform.”

The school’s director of admissions and vice president of patriotic activities Marci Linson echoed the president’s sentiments saying, “Nike is free to campaign as it sees fit, as the college is free, and honor-bound by its mission and goals, to ensure that it respects our country and those who truly served and sacrificed.”

This isn’t the first time the college has made a patriotic stand.

Last year, the school required all of its athletes and coaches to stand for the national anthem. They even went so far as to say that they would refuse to participate in the event if a member of the opposing team knelt for the national anthem.

The decision was named the “No pledge, No play” rule.

That decision, however, required the college to make their own sacrifice when the Division II men’s basketball postseason tournament rolled around.

The school had asked the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes to require players and coaches to stand for the anthem for games conducted on their campus.

The NAIA refused to comply with the request and as a result, the small college stepped down, forfeiting from the tournament.

The school’s president said that they would rather forfeit a game than lose their honor.

At the time, he said, “we’re living in a culture that doesn’t know right from wrong anymore.” (For more from the author of “College Kicks Nike to the Curb: ‘If Nike Is Ashamed of America, We Are Ashamed of Them’” please click HERE)

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Nike Stock Drops as Furious Ex-Fans Burn Gear

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Nike has picked sides in the divisive NFL protest debate and the value of its shares stumbled in early trading Tuesday as a result.

The athletic-wear giant named former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as its latest advertising spokesperson.

Kaepernick, who started the ongoing pregame protests against racial inequality and police violence in 2016, shared the news in a tweet that sparked praise, criticism and countless social-media arguments.

As Business Insider reported, the news also resulted in trepidation among traders, though some of the initial losses had been recovered shortly after markets opened. When the opening bell rang, the corporation’s stock was trading 3.7 percent lower than at its previous close.

The theme of an anticipated campaign for the 30th anniversary of Nike’s iconic slogan is reflected in the image shared online by Kaepernick, who is also 30 years old.

“Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt,” he wrote.

The revelation was immediately met by clashing narratives.

In comments directly to Kaepernick’s tweet and separate posts, supporters posted images of themselves in Nike apparel while detractors called for boycotts and even posted videos of themselves destroying the company’s merchandise.

Some former customers said they would shift their loyalty to a competing brand.

A handful of particularly upset Twitter users posted video footage of themselves setting fire to their own Nike sneakers.

One protester shared his destructive video and directed a message to Nike reading, “how you going to endorse @Kaepernick7 a person that advertises socks with cops portrayed as pigs, a person that hasn’t played NFL for 2 years, well it’s good I never really spent money on your brand but to the money I did, here they are”

“Due to your support of C.K. in your coming adds, I as an American can no longer support your company,” read the caption of a similar video uploaded by another Twitter user.

That tweet included the hashtags “#boycottNike” and “#IStandForOurFlag.”

Though not to this extent, Nike has previously expressed general support for the right of Kaepernick and others to protest in the way they feel is appropriate.

“Nike supports athletes and their right to freedom of expression on issues that are of great importance to our society,” read a company statement issued last year. (For more from the author of “Nike Stock Drops as Furious Ex-Fans Burn Gear” please click HERE)

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Bill Gates gives $100k to support gay marriage in Washington State

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Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer and co-founder Bill Gates have each donated $100,000 to the campaign supporting the state’s new gay marriage law, which faces a referendum vote in November.

Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage, said Monday that the checks were cut Friday and are being reported to the state Public Disclosure Commission on Monday afternoon.

“It’s going to make a tremendous difference,” Silk said. “It’s very important for us to have that broad support from business leaders and companies themselves.”

Microsoft is just one of several prominent Pacific Northwest businesses that have expressed their support for same-sex marriage, including Starbucks Corp. and Nike Inc.

Referendum 74 was certified for the ballot last month after gay marriage opponents turned in more than 240,000 signatures, far more than the minimum of 120,577 valid voter signatures required.

Read more from this story HERE.

Photo credit: World Economic Forum