Customers Boycotting Nike Following Controversial Ad

After the 2018 “Just Do It”  campaign was launched starring Colin Kaepernick, angry customers are boycotting Nike.

The “Just Do It” Campaign is series of advertisements commemorating the 30th anniversary of their famous slogan. Kaepernick is among Serena Williams, Odell Beckham Jr. and other famous athletes as the faces of the campaign. Kaepernick, a former NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers,  is more controversial than any of the other representatives. For he has been protesting against police violence by kneeling while the USA National Anthem was played before his games. This season, the NFL decided that he would not be included in the league and Kaepernick has since filed a lawsuit against the NFL. During Kaepernick’s string of protests, Donald Trump claimed that the protests were not against police violence, but instead were out of disrespect for the US flag and the country.

This idea from Trump and now Kaepernick being featured in Nike’s campaign have sparked many boycotts against Nike and their products, mostly by Trump supporters. Angry customers have taken to social media and shared videos burning their Nike merchandise. Others have donated their Nike products and prompted others to do the same. More have snipped the Nike swooshes from their socks and many colleges, some sponsored by Nike, have ditched their apparel for other brands or banned it from being worn on campus. Employers have also banned their employees from wearing Nike apparel in the workplaces.

These protests have not negatively effected Nike in the slightest. Their stock has gone up after the boycott began and the social media videos have earned them a lot of publicity.