Corporate Bullshit
June 23rd, 2005 by JJ
We all recognize the picture on the left. (If you don’t, please pretend that you do so as not to upset me.) The picture on the right is new. It’s from a Nike ad campaign - and it’s a load of horseshit.
At first glance, you might be kind of okay with it. Nike probably paid Dischord records a shitload of money, right? No. Nike probably asked for permission to borrow the iconic image of one of the greatest punk rock/hardcore front men of all time, right? Nope. Well at least the shoe giant must have had good intentions, crediting the record label, sending potential new customers in Dischord’s direction? No such luck.
Nike is simply trying to hijack some cred through the blatant theft of a sub-culture icon. Fuckers.
Here’s a quote from Pitchfork:
We spoke to a representative from Dischord Records, Minor Threat’s label, if Nike had asked to borrow these images. They said the following: “No, they stole it and we’re not happy about it. Nike is a giant corporation which is attempting to manipulate the alternative skate culture to create an even wider demand for their already ubiquitous brand. Nike represents just about the antithesis of what Dischord stands for and it makes me sick to my stomach to think they are using this explicit imagery to fool kids into thinking that the general ethos of this label, and Minor Threat in particular, can somehow be linked to Nike’s mission. It’s disgusting.”
I’m not a very motivated consumer. It’s taken a lot less than this tremendous level of bullshit to get me to stop buying a particular product. If this isn’t straightened out to Discord’s satisfaction, I swear I will never purchase another Nike product again.
And if any of you rock fans out there don’t own the Minor Threat discography (every song on one disc!), buy it. Make Ian MacKaye happy. Now. Seriously.
Update 6/24/05 7pm EDT:
Dischord posted a news update on their website regarding this issue, including a link for sending complaints to Nike.
Update 6/29/05 1pm EDT:
Nike apologized for the mess and pulled the ad campaign, but Dischord is still considering legal action.
RSS
I’ve never believed in buying anything because some athlete tells me to. My life will not be suddenly uplifted because there’s a swoosh logo on the side of my foot. I refuse to pay extra for clothes so that I can be a walking billboard for the manufacturer.
The optimist in me would like to believe that this latest move by Nike will mark a turning point in branding’s power to sway the masses. The realist in me says that’ll never happen: humans have become slaves to this fecal matter. No one misguided campaign will change that.
Pity.
Well now I hate Nike even more. It really irritates me when they take something underground and try to make it mainstream. They miss the entire point.
Ooh, PRM will be pissed. She had an album released by them. Wait until she reads this.
And that’s f’ed up I might add. I’m shocked corporate lacked the creativity to come up with something better than stolen joints.
You might be right, Carmi. But the interesting thing is, Nike’s trying to market its line of skateboarding shoes with this shit. Skateboarders can be an angry bunch sometimes. And a lot of the skaters I know are also Minor Threat fans. Hopefully they’ll hear about the backstory behind this bullshit campaign.
So true, Faolan. The concept that Nike is trying to seem “underground” is terribly absurd.
I wonder what she’ll have to say, Desult. I’m pissed and I’m just a fan.
Ian MacKaye sings like a girl.
I’m not actually a fan or anything, but I do think this is a long hard piece of bullshit on Nike’s part. This isn’t even remotely subtle, and I hope they get sued for millions. Then hopefully, Dischord will take the money and turn it around by releasing a series of official compilations of some of their classic stuff. Make the good stuff easier to find.
I hope dischord sues those fuckers. Dischord would never do this in a million fucking years. This is so pathetic. And Im glad I dont buy shit from NIKE…one more reason to keep buying NBalance (and I just bought a new pair the other day and told the lady that I wouldnt even try on a pair of NIKE because, as far as I know, Nike still has third world counrtys kids make their shite for like 25 cents a day.
Thanks for posting JJ and telling me about it. I would like to post your post with your permission. Im writing a letter or doing something…
hey JJ, Im linking you too. thanks
That’s what I love about Minor threat, Maine. It’s not the standard yelling in a gravelly voice hardcore music. Plus - he was still a kid when those tracks were recorded.
But I agree completely about the other early Dischord records. I’d love to see a resurgence in popularity for those other lesser known bands.
Yeah, Bonnie. Please help spread the word about this insanity. And.. thanks!
By now you must know that I have zero tollerance for theivery and deceipt and that I’m all about standing up against it. Good action, JJ.
Thanks Sar.
Holy shit. You just ruined my day.
Cheer up, JMo. Now we all have something to chant at Live 8…
“Boy-cott Ni-ke! Boy-cott Ni-ke!”
minor threat’s music has a Copyright insignia on it…
what a sell out…
looking to hide behind the copyright office’s protection???
hmmm?
I’m confused. Must be a joke.