Was it particularly wise of Nike to feature an unhinged lunatic playing at being a “girl”, really, making a mockery of women, to advertise women’s clothing? Did they consider that it would drive away at least half the customer base, who can purchase Under Armor, New Balance, Brooks, and a myriad number of brands instead of Nike? They already have a reputation of using child labor. So, what too do? Double down!
Athletic apparel giant Nike doubled down on its decision to use transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in marketing campaigns to promote the company’s female clothing.
In a pinned comment to Nike’s verified Instagram account, the company instructed customers to “Be kind, be inclusive … Encourage each other.”
The response came amid calls for a boycott of the company shortly after Mulvaney, who identifies as female, appeared in paid social media content dancing in Nike women’s sportswear.
Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies has been one of the athletes leading calls for customers to stop buying Nike’s products. (snip)
“The ad feels like a parody of what women are. In the past, it was always seen as an insult to say ‘run like a girl,’ and here we’ve got someone behaving in a way that’s very unsporty and very unathletic. And it’s so frustrating when only 1% of the USA sponsorship dollar goes to females in sport. That Nike would do this feels like a kick in the teeth.”
So, of course
In Friday’s social media response, Nike vowed to remove any comments that were not “in the spirit of a diverse and inclusive community.”
“You are an essential component to the success of your community! We welcome comments that contribute to a positive and constructive discussion: Be kind… Be inclusive… Encourage each other… Hate speech, bullying, or other behaviors that are not in the spirit of a diverse and inclusive community will be deleted,” Nike wrote.
Nike was really just starting to get sales back after their unhinged support of hater Colin Kapernick, so, let’s see what happens to their sales and stock now.
Read: Nike Decides To Alienate Even More Customers By Doubling Down »