In 1988, Nike advertising agency co-founder Dan Wieden began the “Just Do It” campaign in hopes of driving up Nike product sales. Since the beginning, the campaign and slogan have turned into a worldwide phenomenon.
2018 marks the 30-year anniversary of the “Just Do It” campaign, and Nike again made headlines announcing former NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, would be the face of the campaign.
Kaepernick is currently a free agent and last played for the San Francisco 49ers in 2016, where he was best remembered for kneeling during the national anthem and conjuring up comments from the likes of President Donald Trump and Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones. These public figures disagreed with Kaepernick’s protests in 2016 and have issues with Nike making him the face of their campaign in 2018. However, the selection of Kaepernick as the face of Nike in today’s world is just the spark Nike needs to begin their new era of rule over the athletic apparel world.
Nike had done this type of controversial campaigning before with athletes such as LeBron James. James has worn multiple pairs of Nike shoes in games with the words “equality” on them as part of a Nike campaign for equal rights. During those games, Nike’s stock took a slight dip, then quickly rose back to its normal levels of success. It rose 25 percent in stock value during that season. Nike also rolled out the “If You Let Me Play” campaign in 1995, which fought for females’ right to participate in sports and part of the Title IX campaign. Nike’s stock rose 86 percent, despite the controversial campaign.
The choice by Nike to select Kaepernick as their spokesperson is smart because of his outstanding resume. Kaepernick was a two-time, all-conference player at the University of Nevada. In the NFL, he took the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVIII, coming one play short of winning. Kaepernick also holds the NFL rushing record for most yards by a quarterback in a playoff game. He checks all the athletic achievement boxes when it comes to be a Nike athlete, but what separates him from other athletes are his achievements off the field. Kaepernick was named GQ Citizen of the Year in 2017 for his activism in his community and his peaceful protests of kneeling for the national anthem before NFL games. In 2018, Kaepernick announced that he would make the final $100,000 donation of his “Million Dollar Pledge” in the form of $10,000 donations to charities that would be matched by celebrities.
Nike made the right move by making Kaepernick its new spokesperson for the “Just Do It” campaign because he captures everything it means to be a professional athlete on and off the field. It is proven that this type of campaigning has worked before.
By John Pullano
pullanjj18@bonaventure.edu
