Nike’s Controversial Ad Campaign Pays Off

Nike is a brand that has been associated with sports for decades. In fact, if a logo has been seen on the shirt, or sneakers of a popular athlete, it has almost always been the Nike Swoosh. The latest advertising campaign from Nike has, however, unexpectedly exploded into polarising controversy.
 

Initially it seemed like the move had hurt Nike, with what could have been a true marketing blunder. Many protests across social media were calling for a boycott of the product, with some even posting images of Nike products being destroyed. But upon closer inspection it seems like the move has paid off in a big way.

 

The ad in question, causing the enormous controversy, featured now well known former quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Having outraged NFL fans across the country with his previous actions during the national anthem, Kaepernick was disgraced in the eyes of many. Choosing to base the campaign around him was a risky move, and resulted in predictable backlash. However, the long-term results seem to indicate that the controversy, and resulting stock value fluctuations, were all as Nike had planned.

Controversial Actions
 

Kaepernick is credited with being the pioneer of the so-called “Take A Knee” campaign. In 2016 during a preseason game, the NFL player decided to sit during the national anthem, and later take a knee. The move was in protest to racial inequality, but was not well received by many fans of the sport. It was declared by critics that the sport should be free of political agendas, and that the sitting out of the national anthem is an unpatriotic and disrespectful act.

Others, however, have declared their support of the move, creating a distinct divide on social media platforms. Since the start of the “take a knee” movement by Kaepernick, numerous other athletes have done the same, with similar protests against oppression and inequality.

Since his protest, Kaepernick has stated that he has been blacklisted by the NFL, and is currently not signed to a team. The NFL has come out to make a statement of support, but with no teams making a move yet to sign the player back into the game.
 

Stock Reaction To Controversy
 

Initially, Nike stocks took a tumble and closed at 3% lower, seeming to indicate that the marketing stunt had backfired in a big way. This, however, gave way to a massive turnaround soon after. The website Robinhood, that is frequented more by younger brokers than most, saw a sudden increase of around 300% more purchases than sales for the brand. This is in comparison to just 12% of the previous week. For a better perspective, in Oregon where the headquarters of the brand are located, the percentage is a much more impressive 850% more purchases than sales.

More importantly, online sales in products with the Swoosh logo are up a stunning 31%, which more or less sums up the situation. As far as marketing campaigns go, this one has certainly been a success.
 

Controversy Breeds Publicity
 

Managing director at GlobalData Retail, Neil Saunders stated in a recent interview what everyone has been thinking. Nike had recently been doing well in a market that is under considerable pressure, and made a seriously risky move with the campaign. A bad decision could well have resulted in catastrophe for the brand. On the other hand, staying ahead is all about making risky moves, and in this case it seems to have paid off.

Although the situation has not yet played out fully, a brand this big certainly knows the benefit of controversy, as far as publicity is concerned. Which is to say; all publicity is good publicity, as long as consumers are paying attention.