Nike and Social Justice Essay

Kaepernick Nike Ad

Colin Kaepernick, the former pro-football quarterback, has become the face of Nike in a new controversial campaign that has aimed to leverage Kaepernick’s status as an anti-establishment, counter-culture hero of social justice. Kaepernick, who became famous for being the first to “take a knee” during the national anthem sung before kickoff, soon found himself unemployed by the NFL (an organization he thereupon sued for discrimination). By trying to draw attention to social injustice during a particularly turbulent time in recent years when the Black Lives Matter organization got underway in response to a rising perception of police assaults on the black community, Kaepernick became a pariah in the corporate NFL world. Nike, however, like many other professional athletes—from LeBron James to Tom Brady (ESPN; Sanchez)—has shown support for the message that Kaepernick was trying to communicate. Nike has even gone a step further and tried to capitalize on Kaepernick’s popularity among its target market and has thus featured Kaepernick’s face in full with the words “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything” inscribed on the ad. The image that is being associated with the product being sold is the idea that Nike stands behind the black community, the marginalized community, and virtually everyone who opposes injustice and wants change. This position is especially popular among those who oppose the Trump Administration (which has taken a firm stance against kneeling during the national anthem). In short, Nike has entered into the realm of socio-politics by choosing a new kind of hero—one who is not just heroic on the sports field but who is also heroic in terms of standing up for social justice.

The image of Kaepernick’s face in the ad teaches Nike’s target audience that Nike is a company that supports social justice. It also indicates that company has corporate social responsibility at heart and will lobby to make changes that will help bring about better equality in the world. The starting place is by showing support for a player who was cast out of the league because of a socio-political stance. I for one believe that what Kaepernick was fighting for is important, and I am glad to see a company like Nike get behind him rather than forget that he ever existed.

Thus, I believe the advertisement is effective in giving hope to the overall culture of America, even if…