Nike and Colin Kaepernick: Choosing Who You Are For

Case study · Marketing 465 · Human-Centered Marketing

Nike’s 2018 “Dream Crazy” campaign shows that a values-based stand means deciding which customers you are speaking to, and accepting in advance that others may walk away.

The situation

In 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. The protest became one of the most divisive topics in American sports.

In 2018, Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan turned 30. Nike and its longtime agency, Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, built an anniversary campaign around athletes who had pushed past limits. Kaepernick became its face.

The challenge

Any brand that takes a side on a social issue will upset some customers. Nike sells to a huge, politically mixed market. The question was not whether there would be backlash. It was whether the brand’s core customers would see the stand as true to Nike, and whether the company was willing to accept losses elsewhere.

Nike’s CEO at the time, Mark Parker, did not need the board’s approval. Board member Beth Comstock told CNBC that management informed the board before the release, but that Parker “certainly doesn’t need board approval to figure out where to run an ad.”

What they did

On September 3, 2018, Kaepernick posted the first campaign image on social media, with the line: “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” A few days later, a two-minute film called “Dream Crazy,” narrated by Kaepernick, aired during the NFL season opener. It featured athletes who had overcome long odds.

What happened

The reaction was immediate and split. #BoycottNike trended, and some people posted videos of themselves burning Nike shoes. President Donald Trump criticized the ad. At the same time, many people praised Nike for backing Kaepernick. Both sides of the result are part of the case.

• Nike shares fell about 3 percent the day after the announcement, then reached a record high within about two weeks (CNBC, September 2018)
• Morning Consult found Nike’s net favorability among Americans fell from +69 to +35 after the announcement, and the share of Republicans who said they like to buy Nike fell from 51 to 28 percent (NBC News, September 2018)
• Edison Trends reported Nike’s online sales rose 31 percent in the days after the launch, compared with 17 percent in the same period a year earlier (Willamette Week, September 2018)
• CEO Mark Parker told analysts the campaign drove “record engagement with the brand” (Marketing Week, September 2018)
• “Dream Crazy” won the 2019 Emmy for Outstanding Commercial (Muse by Clios, 2019)

Why it worked

Nike’s brand has long been about athletes who push through resistance. Putting Kaepernick at the center of a message about belief and sacrifice fit that story. To the customers Nike was speaking to, the stand looked like the brand acting on its own values, not borrowing a cause.

Nike also made a clear choice about its audience. The Morning Consult numbers show the campaign cost Nike favor with some groups, especially Republicans. The sales and engagement data suggest it gained energy with others. A brand cannot be everyone’s favorite and also take a strong stand. Nike chose the stand.

Where it gets complicated

The evidence is mixed and short-term. Morning Consult measured a real drop in overall favorability. Edison’s data covered online sales for only a few days. Nike’s quarterly results released on September 25, 2018 showed revenue up 10 percent, but that quarter ended on August 31, before the campaign launched (Marketing Week, 2018). It is hard to prove the campaign’s long-term sales effect.

Taking a stand also creates expectations. Once a brand speaks on social justice, people judge it by its own conduct, including how it treats workers and athletes. Critics on both sides watch for gaps between what a brand says and what it does.

Finally, this playbook depends on scale. Nike could absorb a boycott from part of its market. A smaller brand might not survive the same reaction.

The marketing principle

Human-centered marketing starts with knowing the people you serve and what they value. Nike’s stand worked for its brand because it fit Nike’s long story about athletes and belief, and because Nike accepted that some customers would leave. A values-based stand means knowing who you are for, and being honest with yourself about who you might lose.

Sources

• Nike director: Board knew about Kaepernick ad, but CEO did not need our OK, CNBC (2018)
• Survey shows Kaepernick campaign has already taken toll on Nike, NBC News (2018)
• Nike Sales Spike After Made-in-Portland Colin Kaepernick Commercial Debuts, Willamette Week (2018)
• Nike ‘proud’ of Colin Kaepernick ad as campaign drives ‘record engagement’, Marketing Week (2018)
• Nike’s Kaepernick Ad Prompts Swift, Divisive Reaction, CBS Minnesota (2018)
• Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’ wins 2019 Emmy for best commercial, Muse by Clios (2019)

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