Everything
“I have to be patient. I know deep down that I did the right thing,” Kaepernick told ICON following his controversial Nike campaign in 2018. “Every life that is wasted is worth more than anything. More than my career, without doubt.”
Since taking the knee during an NFL match in 2016, Colin Kaepernick has been the subject of a slew of controversy surrounding police brutality and black rights in the United States, ultimately taking on America single-handedly. The events that followed the iconic game have rung on as the now-activist continues his fight for justice. It resulted in losing his job as an NFL player, and in 2018 when Nike partnered with the athlete for its ‘Just Do It’ campaign, fans were outraged.
Facing the sporting powerhouse, billboards, social media posts and print advertisements depicted the player followed by, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”
Many had called to boycott the brand as they believed Kaepernick was being disrespectful through his actions to take the knee and Nike immediately saw a four percent dip in its stocks. The black lash echoed across the globe and while many believed the Portland-based company had made a grave error that could seriously hurt its revenue, a new report suggest that is not the case.
Exactly one year on and according Bloomberg, the results have appeared to be neutral, if not positive. The business publication referred to the numbers of the UBS’s latest annual survey of U.S. consumers about athletic brands and according to the comparison, Nike received the highest “net promoter score.” This is a common industry metric capturing how likely shoppers are to recommend a brand to a friend and additionally, “found that shoppers’ perceptions of Nike have largely improved or remained unchanged since last year’s survey.” The number were taken before and after the Kaepernick controversy.
Supporting this claim, a Stifel report from August shows that Nike was the most popular style in 81% from feedback of 100 sneaker retailers. When it comes to investors, shares are up nearly 8% since the last trading day before the Kaepernick ad was revealed.
If anything, the results reveal that it is possible for international corporations to take a stand and not risk dire consequences in the process. In early January, razor giant Gillette was in hot water for its ‘The Best Men Can Be’ advertisement which saw social media blow up in disarray, however the effects of that campaign is not yet clear.
