During a recent talk at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Nike co-founder Phil Knight revealed the ad campaign which set the internet – and eventually some of his company’s gear – on fire wouldn’t have happened without LeBron James.
With Colin Kaepernick as its centerpiece, the controversial “Just Do It” campaign led to public outrage from the right and plenty of Nike purchases from the left.
Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/SRWkMIDdaO
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 3, 2018
When company CEO Mark Parker and Knight were first shown the controversial TV ad which accompanied the campaign by the advertising department, both were nervous about giving it the green light.
But, the ad department informed them they’d have to decide fast in order to get the campaign out and on the air in the desired time frame.
After remembering a conversation he’d had with LeBron James where the NBA star confided he was worried his son might get shot by a policeman once he started driving because he was a young African-American man, Knight approved the spot.
“I thought of the top hundred worries I have, and that doesn’t make my list. That was a real eye-opener,” Knight said.
With that in mind, Knight took the blowback from the ad in stride.
“It doesn’t matter how many people hate your brand as long as enough people love it,” he said. “And as long as you have that attitude, you can’t be afraid of offending people. You can’t try and go down the middle of the road. You have to take a stand on something, which is ultimately I think why the Kaepernick ad worked.”
It also doesn’t hurt that it made the company a lot of money.
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