Nike sets tone for other brands with ‘Don’t Do It’ ad

Nike recently released its ‘Don’t Do It’ ad, where the retailer addressed racism in America and how companies and people should step up to stop racial injustice. Yahoo Finance’s Dan Roberts joins The Final Round panel to discuss.

Video Transcript

MYLES UDLAND: But of course, outside of the market, biggest news in the country right now is what's been happening with protests across the country. And of course, corporate America has weighed in over the last couple of days. And Dan Roberts, Nike is a company that has made a stand on several social justice issues in the last couple of years, and they've been quite vocal and fairly early to the proceedings in the last several days. Where do things stand with Nike's response?

DAN ROBERTS: Yeah, exactly right, Myles. And let me just preface this by saying, and I know we're all thinking it, of course the response from various corporate giants to all of this going on is not what's important. A lot of people just don't care, and it really doesn't matter what the companies say. But look, we cover business here at Yahoo Finance, and we pay attention to how companies react in times like this.

And I'd also say that this is just the latest example in the last few years where big corporate brands have been forced to make a statement and are usually very anxious and nervous to appear that they're taking a side on any kind of political issue. They like to sit on the fence, issue a statement that kind of equivocates.

Nike has been an exception. And as I wrote about today, you know, the fact that Nike was one of the very first companies to speak out, you know, posted a video on Friday night, whereas, of course, now it's Monday. Now lots of companies are posting statements. They're saying black lives matter. They're showing solidarity. But Nike posted a video back on Friday night.

The fact that Nike was early to move is not surprising. It's in keeping with how Nike has behaved in the last years. We all remember two years ago now it was September 2018 when Nike surprise unveiled a new ad campaign with Colin Kaepernick, and that was amid sort of the height of President Trump's anger about the NFL and the controversy over people claiming they were going to boycott the NFL because the players were kneeling.

Of course, at this point, Kaepernick wasn't even in the league anymore. But Nike very much took a stance, took a political side by signing Colin Kaepernick. And by the way, Kaepernick still under a Nike endorsement contract and so now here we are. And the very things that Kaepernick began kneeling for are coming back to the fore.

And so Nike posted this video Friday night. And interestingly, Adidas and Reebok, which is Adidas owned, and then Brooks Running, which is owned by Berkshire, all of those brands instead of releasing their own statement just retweeted and re-shared and amplified Nike's, which I think says a lot. Now, of course, since then, in the days since then, other sports brands have come out and given their own statements.

You know, Under Armour posted something. Puma posted something, actually the iconic photo from the summer Olympics in the '60s with the fist up. So a lot of brands are responding in their own way. But really, I think Nike is setting the tone for sports brands in terms of how to respond to all this, and I think it's not surprising. It's in keeping with the decision Nike has made.

MYLES UDLAND: Well, and I guess if you think about it though, I mean, their biggest stars, their biggest athletes are black, right? LeBron James is the biggest Nike athlete, and he has been very vocal for a number of years, going back to Trayvon Martin about things-- racial injustice happening. And so it's certainly in keeping with the athletes that they have partnered with, even before the Kaepernick situation, that Nike would be kind of leading the way here. In many ways, they're following the desires of the athletes that they are already working with and certainly are in very close contact with, again, those highest-profile stars who have made their own statements for many years on this topic.