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Nearly a month after Colin Kaepernick's revelation of Nike's revolutionary new advertising campaign, the unveiling video has been viewed more than 80 million times on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
The announcements have made Kaepernick a new celebrity realm, quickly becoming one of the most talked about and most successful campaigns of recent years. And they allowed Nike, which has a history of provocative marketing campaigns, to capitalize on what is known as the resistance movement in a way it only became aware of recently.
They are also another way for Kaepernick to become known as a civil rights entrepreneur, which has not been the case before, especially in sports. He signed contracts to write a book – which should be published next year and will be accompanied by a lecture tour – and to develop a humorous series.
But that hardly happened. During the summer of 2017, a debate took place at Nike's headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, over whether the unemployed quarterback was controversial. non-disclosure agreements that everyone has with Nike.
When the company decided to accept the former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, she risked the wrath of the National Football League, a partner of Nike since 2012, but the company finally decided that it was a risk to take, given the credibility that the company would gain with the young person urban market that it has been aiming for a long time.
Kaepernick launched a national speech in 2016 when he began to kneel during the performance of the national anthem before the games to protest racism, social inequality and police brutality. He left the 49ers after the 2016 season and became a free agent, but leaders across the N.F.L. considered it radioactive because of his protests on the ground, which prompted vocal criticism from President Trump, and no team has signed it.
This left Nike's sports marketing group unhappy. There seemed to be little to do with a professional lightning rod player who did not play football.
Before the company broke off ties with Kaepernick, his senior communications executive persuaded his colleagues to back down because of the risk of negative publicity. Kaepernick would remain on Nike's list of sponsored athletes – although he was largely ignored for almost a year.
Through interviews with current and former Nike employees, people close to Kaepernick, analysts and others involved in the advertising campaign, an image of Nike revealed that the Kaepernick crusade, under pressure from its advertising company long time, good business sense despite the risk of angering the NFL
The risk seems to have borne fruit. Last Tuesday, Mark Parker, General Manager of Nike, told Wall Street analysts that the company's quarterly results indicated that the campaign had "sparked record engagement with the brand."
"We feel really good and are very proud of the work we do," said Parker. "We know this has had a very strong impact on consumers."
The campaign also earned Nike a measure of goodwill following the reports of The New York Times and other media earlier this year said Nike has a hostile and abusive work environment for women. In August, two women filed lawsuits against the company seeking class action, alleging wage inequality and gender discrimination.
In updating the company's stock, a Wall Street analyst called the campaign a "stroke of genius." In a note in mid-September, Camilo Lyon, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, wrote that Nike had been "brave." taking a stand "in favor of a social problem where few (if any) companies are late". He added that the campaign "addressed the major consumers of Nike in a very provocative way, which shows that it understands them and that the issues that matter to them. Last week, Nike's shares closed at over $ 85 per share.
KeJuan Wilkins, a spokesman for Nike, acknowledged that the company had had strong discussions about Kaepernick. "It would be normal for a number of people to offer different perspectives," Wilkins said. "In keeping with Nike's mission, all final decisions are made as a group."
Kaepernick, who declined to be interviewed for this article, launched the campaign tweeting a black and white, close-up photo of his face on September 3rd. In the photo, there was the Nike swoosh logo and the words "Believe in something". Even if it means sacrificing everything.
The image is mounted on billboards in San Francisco and New York. The next day, Nike released a two-minute video titled "Dream Crazy," told by Kaepernick, who appears late in the video, urging viewers to strive to make their mark in the world.
But the main role for Kaepernick represents a big reversal in his relationship with Nike. Earlier this year, Nike's decision to keep him in his stable of sponsored athletes without using it had pushed Kaepernick's lawyers to tell the company that it was not meeting its contractual obligations. the confidential nature of the interviews.
Nike's relationship with Kaepernick began in 2011, after the 49ers drafted him, and continued his tumultuous run with the team including a Super Bowl, trials, injuries and controversy on their knees.
In August 2016, during a wave of unarmed African-American men's shootings by the police, Kaepernick began to sit down and then kneel, while the police began to kill him. national anthem played before the 49ers' games. he explained that he was trying to give voice to those who did not have one.
Soon, teammates, players from other teams and even athletes from other sports joined Kaepernick to kneel, lock their arms or raise their hands to support his message.
Knowing that the 49ers were planning to cut him off, Kaepernick gave up his contract in the spring of 2017. When no other team signed it, Nike marketers realized that they did not know what do with him: he had no team, so they could not put his name on a team equipment.
According to a former employee who requested anonymity because of a non-disclosure agreement, senior executives at Nike's sports marketing group decided to terminate his contract.
Then Nigel Powell, the longtime communications manager for Nike, became aware of the decision and "lost his mind," said the former employee.
Powell argued that Nike would face a negative reaction from the media and consumers if it was considered part of N.F.L. rather than Kaepernick. And Nike, with most clothing companies, is desperate to attract urban youth who are turning more and more to Kaepernick. N.F.L. Analysts believe that fans angry at the league about the protests are not a priority for these companies.
Wilkins, Nike's spokesperson, declined to discuss with Nike employees what side of the Kaepernick debate, saying only that the company's protocols involve discussions,
Powell eventually won and Kaepernick remained on Nike's list with a contract that was due to expire in early 2019. But his image still did not appear on any Nike commercials and his name did not appear on any garment, even though his status of the civil rights figure has increased. GQ He named his Citizen of the Year and organizations like Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union have honored him. In October, Kaepernick sued N.F.L. accusing the owners of agreeing to prevent him from playing in the league.
Although Wilkins said sponsorship deals did not guarantee an appearance in a campaign or product, Kaepernick's legal team disagreed. They encouraged Nike to fulfill its contractual obligations to him. His team also asked to start negotiations for a new agreement.
Kaepernick's book and film offerings showed that there was still a market for him. The president of the North American division of Adidas said in April, he might be interested in the signing of the former quarter.
After a series of messages and phone conversations throughout the spring, Nike executives and Kaepernick representatives gathered in New York City on June 18th. For Nike, there was only one problem: what to do N.F.L.
In 2012, Nike is committed to paying an annual report of $ 220 million over five years to register its signature swoosh on all jerseys and officially licensed clothing sold to fans.
The agreement between Nike, the west coast company, known to have pushed the limits, and the group N.F.L. has since been modified. Both sides announced a 10-year extension of the deal in March, but after 2020, Nike will only produce clothing worn on the ground. It will no longer produce N.F.L. goods sold to consumers. This meant that the N.F.L., already a small part of Nike's business, was going to shrink further.
Still in the sports industry, the N.F.L. has the reputation of making its partner companies do what they want. He has long put pressure on broadcasters cover the sport more positively and has the right to reject advertisements during the Super Bowl.
So, when Wieden & Kennedy, Nike's advertising agency for more than three decades, urged the company earlier this year to make the NFL's ultimate persona non grata the face from his "Just Do It" campaign, Nike had to evaluate the potential repercussions.
The advertising company, which forged its reputation in the 1980s when it designed the Michael Jordan ads with Spike Lee, made it clear that Kaepernick could bring real added value. With N.F.L. Becoming a less important partner and his agreement with the league blocked until 2028, Nike decided to listen.
N.F.L. refused to comment. Wieden & Kennedy returned requests for comments to Nike. His employees are less discreet.
Wieden & Kennedy "pushed to use Colin Kaepernick as the face of the" Just Do It "campaign for the 30th anniversary," wrote a cabinet designer in September on a website presenting his work. He added, "Nike has accepted. We created it. Colin posted him. People have lost it.
According to the people who worked on the campaign, Kaepernick's role was rather rapid, with some important elements completed a few weeks before his release. Wieden & Kennedy has not finalized the agreement for the Kaepernick edition with text until August 27, and Lacey Baker, a skateboarder featured in the ad, said that Nike had not contacted her before mid -August.
"I was a little incredulous that they actually do it," said photographer Martin Schoeller, who took the photo used in advertising for GQ. "Companies that make a political statement are the opposite of what you usually want in marketing."
Wilkins, Nike's spokesman, said it was not uncommon for the company's ads to undergo edits before publication.
"The important thing," he says, "is that we use Colin because we consider him one of the most inspiring athletes of his generation."
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