Anthony Phillips

This morning as I was watching my favorite liberal news channel, I saw a story on Nike. Apparently, Nike is coming under intense fire from consumers, particularly; parents for creating a line of T-shirts with controversial slogans targeted toward the young, athletic segment of our population. One tee reads “Dope” featuring a spilled pill bottled and others that read “Get High” and “F**K GRAVITY”, which are emblazoned across the front of these T-shirts in big bold letters.

These tees have created so much contention that Boston’s mayor, Thomas Menino, asked Nike to remove these tees from a local Nike store because he says they promote drug use. Nike defends its marketing strategy by arguing that these T-shirts are a part of an “action sports campaign” which highlights the “commonly used and accepted expressions for performance at the highest level of their sport.”

Nike is a successful company for its ability to effectively target multiple segments of the population at just the right time. Furthermore, they have long established a strong brand name and position by introducing quality products and services. In addition, their uses of sports athletes in association with their products have created a brand image that continues to dominate the sports manufacturing industry. So, why would a company, like Nike, use such controversial marketing techniques? As a consumer, I can’t help but wonder why Nike can’t employ other innovative ways to target our youth and their sport abilities. With the decline in morals in today’s society coupled with the pervasiveness of drug use among our youth, Nike should just “Don’t Do It!”

Would you let your kids wear these tees? How about you?

Photograph Credit:
Sabrina Segal