Motivate Yourself and Follow Your Dream

Nike commercials use professional athletes to sell their products, by relying on the appeal to authority fallacy. Just because a professional athlete endorses a product, it does not mean that the product is good. The new Nike commercial, like all Nike commercials, thrives on the bandwagon fallacy. It gives the impression that the greatest athletes are using Nike products and implying Nike products are the reason they are so incredible or great at what they do; therefore, you should buy Nike products, too.

Nike’s latest advertising campaign features unsigned NFL player Colin Kaepernick, touting the slogan, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” The Kaepernick campaign follows recent media reports concerning Nike related to gender bias and the #MeToo movement. Nike is likely pleased the conversation has shifted away from their internal issues. Is a company that has also been associated with sweatshop labor really a moral crusader for oppressed Americans?

The ad begins with some truly beautiful, inspiring reminders of how particular athletes have overcome unbelievable obstacles to achieve greatness in various forms.

Viewers inherently admire those who triumph over adversity through sheer effort and determination. In addition, the message is perfect for a company selling sports equipment and apparel. However, what is Nike really selling? In the video Kaepernick turns to face the camera and says, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” We have gone straight from an appeal to our universal appreciation for the hardworking underdog who ultimately excels in a sport, to the preaching of relativism – a declaration that “belief” is admirable regardless of its nature or object.

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Kaepernick’s kneeling as a form protest, during the playing of our national anthem during the NFL games. To patriotic Americans, it is deeply troubling that Kaepernick would choose to make a “stand” against police brutality by kneeling in protest during those few minutes devoted to honoring America and her flag – the very flag that represents the protection of civil rights against overzealous government. It is an insult of immense significance for Nike to exalt a person as a hero not in spite of, but because he has dishonored our flag, our anthem and painted a false picture, of whom Americans are and what we believe. What is even more troubling about Nike’s new campaign, however, is its stated messaging.

It is another futile attempt to shake off the unshakeable existence of Truth and Moral Law – the same Moral Law that guarantees that just as athletes who overcame obstacles to excel in their sports inspired us all, we would have all been sad by athletes overcoming obstacles to bully others. Are we teaching our kids “Follow your dreams,” without evaluating the merits of those dreams and that is wrong? We promote “choice” without considering the true nature or of what is being chosen.

It’s significant that an institution as powerful as Nike has thrown its weight behind Kaepernick and his crusade against racial injustice, which began when he started kneeling during the national anthem—a move that has put him at odds with the NFL, and which has almost certainly kept football teams from employing him. However, Nike has often been on the wrong side of social-justice movements, and in the past used its considerable power and influence to crush any protest movement that undermined the company’s bottom line.

Nike has courted controversy with their recent advertisements featuring controversial athlete Colin Kaepernick. However, their ‘Just Do It’ slogan has a much more macabre origin than many realize. Just Do It is a trademark of shoe company Nike, and one of the core components of Nike’s brand. The slogan was coined in 1988 at an advertising agency meeting. The founder of Wieden and Kennedy agency, Dan Wieden credits the inspiration for his ‘Just Do It’ Nike slogan to Gary Gilmore’s last words: ‘Let’s do it.’ Mr. Gilmore, the notorious spree-killer, uttered the words “Let’s do it” just before a firing squad executed him in Utah in 1977. Years later, the phrase became the inspiration for Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign.

In today’s society clever marketing, using social and political controversy helps determine what is popular. A clothing logo might make you popular, but it will not make you a super athlete. Being famous has nothing to do with being intelligent or truthful. These celebrities are being paid, to endorse a product. Nike appears to be “Jumping on the political bandwagon” supporting Colin Kaepernick cause or position merely because it appears to be popular or politically controversial.

Some “choices” are morally right; others are morally wrong. Some protests are honorable, and some are misguided. Some people deserve to be called heroes; others do not. And strength of conviction is not always a virtue. There are things in this world that are worth believing in and sacrificing for, and there are just as certainly things that not. The new Nike ad concludes with Kaepernick saying, “Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they’re crazy enough.” I say, “Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy enough. Ask if your dreams are good.” It is time for our culture to stop peddling this horrible idea that the strength of one’s impulse or conviction is more important than the truth or virtue of it.