Marketing dissent: Why Nike making Colin Kaepernick the centre of Just Do It is a masterstroke

As far as advertising moves go, Nike making Colin Kaepernick the main focus of their new Just Do It campaign is a major slam bang, a shot that will be heard across the globe.   

Kaepernick has been on their books from 2011, even though the company has shied away from using him on any material the past two years, and it's understood his old deal was about to run out.

For the uninitiated, former NFL player Colin Kaepernick hit the headlines after he took a knee during the pre-game US National Anthem to protest the inequities against black people and other minorities in 2016.

It was a singularly brave sacrifice, one that has cost him dearly till now. He left his team the 49ers and wasn’t picked in the draft in 2017, even though his record suggested that he merited a place.

His decision started a war between the mostly white owners of NFL franchises (only two are of non-European descent) and its players (consisting of 70% African-Americans). 

Trump brought a presidential touch to the debate with his usual grace and charm by asking owners to fire those ‘sons of b*****’ who took the knee'. As things stand, the NFL is waiting to pass a legislation that will fine players who don’t stand during the national anthem. Their other option - if they want to avoid sanctions - is to remain in the dressing room.

Amid all this, Kaepernick has filed a collusion grievance against the league alleging an organised effort to keep him out of the roster.

So, for Nike to sign him at this moment is a huge commitment, more so since they also have a deal with NFL running till 2028, which consists of providing kits for all its teams.  

According to media reports, talks started a few months ago and the sides negotiated a new, multi-year deal. With potential suitors like Puma and Adidas waiting in the wings, Nike signed a top-line deal which will include shoes, jerseys and other apparel.

NFL ratings have actually declined since the protests began, yet Nike’s move shows that the brand is willing to take risk in this fractured political climate.

When a company – synonymous with using child labour in third-world countries in the 90s - backs the fight against inequality, it only means that they think there's a pot of gold at the end of the tunnel. 

Gino Fisanotti, Nike VP of brand for North America told ESPN: “We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward.”

He added that the new version of the campaign was aimed at youngsters and said: “We wanted to energize its meaning and introduce 'Just Do It' to a new generation of athletes.”

Others included in this particular campaign are LeBron James (who won’t shut up and dribble), Odell Beckham Jr, Serena Williams, Shaquem Griffin and Lacey Baker.

Both Williams and James, vocal African-American athletes with massive fan following across the globe, have already given the deal a thumbs up.

The deal also has already faced some backlash from the Trump-supporting crowd, with some of them burning shoes and mutilating their socks by cutting off the swish.

There’s always the risk that Trump will tweet tomorrow or the day after asking all his fans to boycott Nike. But it appears that Nike saw a huge opportunity as a way to be part of a global conversation and didn’t want to let it pass.

Nike seems to believe that their potential customers can see that Kaepernick is standing up to inequality, and not as the Conservatives claim, disrespecting the flag, the veterans or the nation.

It’s a high-risk manoeuvre but one that could play rich dividends. That’s because Kaepernick’s protest closely resembles that of the man who called himself The Greatest.

In 1967, at the height of his powers, Muhammad Ali sacrificed it all for three-and-a-half years when he refused the draft for the Vietnam War.  

He had famously said: “I ain’t got no quarrel against the Vietcong. My conscience won't let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, or some poor hungry people in the mud for big powerful America. And shoot them for what? They never called me nigger, they never lynched me, they didn't put no dogs on me, they didn't rob me of my nationality, rape or kill my mother and father.... How can I shoot them poor people? Just take me to jail.”

Ali’s career existed at a time when global deals didn’t exist in this magnitude and corporate America appeared to be more conservative in their choice shying away from the politically charged superstar.

The times have changed now. Kaepernick like Ali has come to represent the rage against inequality and Nike, a company that represents the epitome of late capitalism, has realised that many of its potential customers probably back those values. After all, during the 2016 elections, Clinton won the youth vote getting 55% to Trump’s 37%. Also, beyond the US, this move should get Nike a tonne of goodwill across the globe.

Now, when people buy a Nike product, they are not just buying a shoe, a jacket or a team’s jersey. They are buying a ticket to and sponsoring a revolution. The right to stand up, to dissent, to protest. Simply by swiping their credit cards, people can be told they are standing up to tyranny.  

Nike, it would appear, has privatised dissent. Fictional adman Don Draper used to say: “If you don’t like what they are saying, change the conversation.” Nike went one step better, they just bought the entire conversation. Wonder, what Karl Marx would’ve made of it?