Nike just unveiled a commercial with Colin Kaepernick and it’s absolutely hilarious.
It might have been inspiring if Nike had gone with just the images and no narration.
In the video, Kaepernick does the voiceover as several athletes are shown overcoming obstacles. The ad ends with Kaepernick saying, ‘So don’t just ask if your dreams are crazy, ask if they’re crazy enough.’
Speaking of crazy, who wrote this thing? The wording is absolutely ridiculous.
The black and white print ad was nuts to begin with. Colin Kaepernick was saying that you should ‘believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.’
Really?
Kaepernick didn’t ‘lose’ anything.
He wasn’t at the top of his game and had been moved to the backup QB spot with the 49ers.
He then decided to take a knee during the anthem — on the field while in uniform.
Kaepernick has, to his credit, given generously to charities. That is commendable, even if I personally disagree with the causes that he chooses to financially support, at least he’s putting his money where his mouth is. Being a spokesman and supporting things that he believes in off the field is absolutely appropriate and honorable.
The issue is that he chose to protest in uniform, on the job, and there was a huge backlash from the fans who didn’t see the protest the same way that Kaepernick did. The NFL is ultimately a business and if the fans are alienated, then there’s no business, no multi-million dollar contracts, and no platform. That would ultimately hurt charities.
He chose not to take the multi-million dollar deal with the Broncos.
He chose activism over football and he is being rewarded for it.
He might not be in the NFL, but he managed to keep a pretty sweet endorsement deal with Nike throughout the controversy.
ESPN’s Sports Business reporter, Darren Rovell, revealed that Nike has been paying Kaepernick this entire time:
BREAKING: Nike had been paying Colin Kaepernick all along, waiting for the right moment. That moment is now, as he becomes the face of the company’s 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” campaign. pic.twitter.com/uccpDStbq5
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 3, 2018
The ad was put together well and featured a shot of Kaepernick only at the very end.
The full video version that was released on Wednesday presents ‘a girl from Compton’ while showing a young Serena Williams, with the controversial former NFL star heard saying, ‘don’t just become a tennis player, become the greatest athlete- ever.’
A powerful clip of Serena celebrating her 2015 US Open win is shown with Kaepernick’s voice over saying ‘Yeah, that’s more like it.’
With all due respect to Serena Williams, she’s not the greatest athlete ever. I think we can say with confidence that she is the greatest female tennis player ever, but as John McEnroe said, she wouldn’t be in the top-tier in men’s tennis.
Kaepernick implores ‘Don’t become the best basketball player on the planet, be bigger than basketball,’ with a clip of NBA star Lebron James opening his ‘I Promise’ school.
Two words: taxpayer funded.
‘When they talk about the greatest team in the history of the sport, make sure its your team,’ he says as a clip is played of the US Women’s National Soccer Team, the most successful international women’s team ever, celebrates a victory.
Eliud Kipchoge is shown, while Kaepernick says ‘Don’t try to became the fastest runner in your school, or the fastest in the world, be the fastest ever.’
Source: Daily Mail
What, so Usain Bolt is chopped liver now? Yes, I know they chose distance running vs. sprinting, but… come on! You can’t say ‘fastest ever’ with no qualifier and not be critiqued on that.
The ad featured several athletes with disabilities, including the new pick by the Seattle Seahawks, Shaquem Griffin, the first ever NFL player to have only one hand.
Also included was Alicia Woollcott who was both a linebacker on the football team and the Homecoming Queen at her Michigan high school.
That’s some pretty inspiring stuff — if it wasn’t narrated by Kaepernick telling people to do crazy things.
Watch the new commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mreQsQrDF-A
Nike plans to run the ad during Thursday Night Football.
The original black and white Kaepernick photo was parodied mercilessly, and there’s no doubt that this one will be as well.
Here are a few of the sports-themed memes:
Thanks @Nike for the great new meme trend 😂 pic.twitter.com/XZKK7vc5pj
— NFL Memes (@NFLHateMemes) September 5, 2018
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnUY_3-nCa-/?utm_source=ig_embed
Not sure who created this, but it is gold. #NikeBoycott #Bears pic.twitter.com/Rn1Ot2rSxL
— Ryan Heckman (@TheRyanHeckman) September 4, 2018
And then there were the darker sports memes.
Best one yet 😂 pic.twitter.com/mNBuFcVC1t
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) September 5, 2018
Ok, the Colin Kaepernick comments and parodies have put the bar pretty low.
Soooo, I started digging… pic.twitter.com/PZYVmX9hTS— NoirTalon (@NoirTalon) September 6, 2018
Tiger Woods:
This O.J. Simpson meme:
Athletes weren’t the only ones mocked.
A couple of Democrats were, too.
Anthony Weiner:
There’s this one that’s a side by side with the new Media (D) darling, ‘Democratic Socialist’ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:
Some were just dark. Period.
Like this one of a Nike sweatshop:
Police dealing with May Day protesters in Paris:
This one from the Vietnam war:
And, of course, Hitler:
Then came the memes about actual sacrifice:
https://twitter.com/EthicalLoyal/status/1036924131340627968
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1036843463738830849
This is what you should have done. pic.twitter.com/5qdsQNxd4f
— SEER (@JordyAri) September 4, 2018
Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.#WeStand pic.twitter.com/icOJzJRfaP
— Joe Chenelly 🇺🇸 (@jchenelly) September 4, 2018
Of course, the Trump Train couldn’t resist:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnXG-RVHnB_/?taken-by=donaldjtrumpjr
And then, the best one of all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=gXnw45cEmPU
Thanks, Nike. You’ve given the meme warriors some fresh fodder for parody.
Kaepernick’s new ad campaign with Nike is talking about his sacrifice…
What sacrifice?
He made the decision to kneel and protest the anthem.
He made the decision not to sign with the Broncos when he had the chance.
And now, teams won’t touch him for fear of alienating the very patriotic fan base.
But in the booming Trump economy, even Kaepernick can’t stay jobless.
