If you're managing a sports team, and your most famous player walks away, something serious is going on. If two of your A-list members walk away, and find themselves accompanied by a handful of additional teammates, then you might be best suited considering a major change of approach.
At least, that's the logic which appears to be at the heart of Nike's recent decision to quit the Board of Directors in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.Yesterday, Nike announced that they will be vacating their position because the Chamber opposes new environmental policies from the EPA which many believe are important to secure the future of not only the environment, but also of American business.
The walkout began when Apple quit the Chamber altogether on Tuesday along with a number of energy companies. The improved environmental policies that Nike and friends want to see adopted are good for us all, because they will reduce carbon emissions, deforestation, and garbage production. But you don't even have to really care about those issues to see why Nike and their buddies would feel strongly about these policies.
Large companies like Nike and Apple are big, easy targets for environmental activists and watchdogs, and with good reason. After all, the larger a company, the greater its impact on all of our lives. As a result of the scrutiny, Nike and company are essentially forced to become trendsetters and role models through their voluntary adoption of progressive environmental policies.
But what about companies who aren't being watched and criticized? Without a law in place, there's nothing to guarantee that they run an ecologically responsible business. It takes trendsetters like Nike and Apple to make corporate responsibility into standard practice instead of a 'nice idea'.
If standards aren't updated with the times, business practices won't be either, and many American businesses will eventually find themselves in the same situation as the car-makers in Detroit-- unable to compete in an increasingly eco-friendly marketplace, and driven bankrupt after years of resisting change.
Hats off to all the companies that walked out this week-- someone needs to drive home the importance of high environmental standards for ALL companies. This isn't just about Nike or Apple, it's about the air we breathe and the future of our economy!
This week over on Womanist Musings guest contributor femonade blogged about Nike's latest commercial featuring NFL running back Adrian Peterson. The commercial centers around Peterson's agile athleticism and uber strength. One problem, though, according to femonde:
"[The commercial is] so horrible, I literally have to turn my head whenever it comes on. WTF? A black man can't be a great athlete without likening him to…an animal? An alien? Something inhuman, and some manner of scaly-skinned freak?"
Femonade criticizes Nike for perpetuating dangerous stereotypes, citing historically degrading tropes that always seem to creep up now and then in American popular culture; animalistic, barbaric, scary, dangerous, dark black guys. Pretty much opposite everything nice, tame, and um, light. Femonade also mentions the traditional practice of skin-branding that's been a commonplace in African and African-American culture.
Femonade writes:
"In my estimation, the best-case scenario here is that Nike wanted not to give a black man animalistic or inhuman qualities, but used “texturized” black skin to evoke a skin-branding ritual with a sordid history, but that has been somewhat reclaimed recently by black fraternities."
Femonade continues to argue that even if this is Nike's way of evoking a skin-branding tradition, it's probably not a good look for Nike (a mega corporation with a not-so-squeeky-clean history with folks of color) to evoke these traditions while claiming them for the purpose of marketing a sports product.
Dangerous territory, Nike. Very dangerous, territory.
But it's not like we haven't been confronted with questionable imagery in sports advertising before. How could we forget this gem:
This particular photo, splashed all over Vogue Magazine last year, started a s**t storm in and around the blogosphere. Everyone from fashionista bloggers to racialicious bloggers were writing about it.
Needless to say, Lebron likened to Tarzan the Ape while grabbing a white damsel in distress (though she really didn't looked distressed, but more like she was doing some kind of awkward dance move) didn't sit well with the folks. Aside from the ad being in poor taste, it was unflattering to both Lebron's athletic swagga and Giseles' graceful sexiness.
So here's the thing about the Adrian Peterson ad: It's scary. The last thing I think about while looking at the commercial is "Oh, hell yeah, I gotta cop whatever they're selling!" I'm not even quite sure what Nike's selling in the ad to begin with. The cinematography alone is dreadful - literally. Slow moving shots, grey imagery, cold, and uninviting. It reminded me more of freezing my butt off at a Browns game in Cleveland. Sure, I know Nike isn't trying to sell Popsicles here, but when and why did sports become so horribly depressing?
Without question, there are racial undertones attached to the Peterson ad. At the end of the commercial when Peterson's skin turns reptile-alien like, I can't help but squirm upon the sight of such imagery. It makes me uncomfortable. It's not so much that I fear reptiles or even aliens, but I'm concerned that these images, more often than not, make people fear each other. We're being told things big, black, dark, and amimalistic are scary, and society - a.k.a the real damsel in distress - should be scared. America has a long sordid history with attaching people of color to dangerous and inferior imagery, and because that history is so deeply embedded in our consciousness, it's best not to correlate these things at all - especially in a sports commercial.
Does this Nike ad fail on the racially sensitive front? Hell yeah it does. Does Nike have an alterior-motive to purposely degrade, dehumanize, and disenfranchise all people of color? I highly doubt it.
Unfortunately, the enormous gaffe here is that the Nike ad is an example of, (and further contributes to), our arrested development as a collective. We should know better. With that said, even though Nike has a history of epic gaffes, the company continues to work with communities of color (and HERE) and partners with great organizations like YouthNoise to make a difference in the lives of others through sport and play. Again, it's about the outcomes.
Nike did release a statement about the ad, which in my opinions sucked. My advice for Nike? Keep working with us, not against us, and by all means, send your ad executives on a week long ethics retreat.
"Humans produce more energy for their mass than the Sun! We just need to tap into that bio-energy and beating gasoline will be a breeze. Biking is great. I would argue that in an urban setting biking is just a fast as driving (and you don't have to pay for parking). I'm really stoked to have won, and I hope more people start beating gasoline by biking."
Thanks, Khiza Mazwi
Khiza Mazwi is the grand prize winner of Nike's Beat Gasoline contest. Besides receiving his Nike 6.0 package which included a BMX bike, shoes, apparel, and a $1000 Global Gift Giving Card, he continued to share his enthusiasm for beating gasoline(read below). With a response like that to an email congratulating him as the winner of Nike's Beat Gasoline contest, you know he deserved to win it all.
(Khiza posing with the star of the video)
Alright Khiza, the people want to know about your video and how you beat gasoline, but lets start with the basics. Where are you from? What are you doing?
I was born and raised in Zimbabwe, went to school in Botswana and am currently in my 3rd year at USC studying Chemical Engineering and Material Science.
You got a lot on your plate, yet you still had the time to put together a stellar video entry, tell us about the concept of the video.
Living in LA can get pretty hectic, with the traffic, sometimes it can take an hour to get somewhere 10 miles away. I had originally bought a motorcycle which helped beat traffic but I was still heavily dependent on gasoline so I decided to use a bicycle as my primary mode of transport. I wanted the video to be focused on the bicycle itself so all the shots are of the bike itself getting around Los Angeles.
It was a really modern type of video. Almost like a music video, really fast, quick edits, it makes the viewers really feel what its like to pedal through the streets of Los Angeles. What are some of the benefits of riding a bicycle in a big city?
I actually saw this chart online that compares different vehicles and their overall fuel usage. The bike is the most efficient besides walking. For one, a bike is a simple machine that doesn't require any fuel and very little maintenance. You can get around just as fast as a car, you don't have to sit in traffic. You don't have to pay for parking and you'll always be able to ride it directly where you're headed, you won't be in a parking lot two blocks away. Of course, riding a bicycle is good for your health, you feel immediate effects when you start riding a bike everywhere, I feel more fit and I have more money in my pocket. It's win/win.
And I imagine that you would get to see the nooks and crannies of the City that most people who were driving wouldn't notice.
Oh yeah most definitely, you really get to experience the city, see all the little things that you normally wouldn't pay attention to.
I also liked your track selection, what made you decide to go with The Strokes, it really set up a good vibe in the video.
Thats just the kind of music I'm into. I thought it would go well, and I'm happy with the result. I like rock n' roll music and I love bicycles, why not have them all at once.
Well Khiza, thank you again for participating in our Beat Gasoline Campaign and congratulations on winning the grand prize, did you get your new bike yet?
Yes, I received it earlier his week and I'm putting it together. Thanks YouthNoise Play City and Nike for pimping my ride! It couldn't have come at a better time, the bike that I used in the video just broke recently. I just wanted to show something that I feel very strongly about and enjoy. Thank you for the opportunity.
(Unpacking his brand new prize.)
(Already running into some security with his new ride.)
Thanks to Khiza and to everyone who participated in the Beat Gasoline Contest. Just because the contest is over doesn't mean that we still can't keep beating gasoline. Keep riding, walking, skating, hovering anywhere and everywhere to keep the movement alive.
Ring the bell and call in the band, we finally have the winners of this year's YouthNoise/Nike-sponsored Beat Gasoline competition! It's been a long journey but the tallies have been counted. Now it's time to give credit where credit's due. Among the winners are:
No words were needed to make this video, "Bicycle" unfolds magically using moving imagery set against a hardcore musical soundtrack. This 2-minute story takes the viewer through a day-long journey from the point-of-view of one lone biker blazing through the streets of Los Angeles with two pedal-powered wheels. Well-crafted and uniquely produced, khizamazwi gets high fives all around for this masterpiece!
1st place winner receives a BMX bike, $1000 Global Giving Card and a Nike prize pack!
Rene, an 8-year-old skater phenom would certainly give P-Rod a run for his money! This 30-second video features Rene doing what he does best and making yours truly seriously consider riding a skateboard to work -- uh, well, maybe through Central Park. It only takes seconds for viewers to appreciate Rene's story and quickly recognize that he'll most certainly become an inspiring adult athlete one day. Mad props to Rene for using his passion as a way to beat gas!
2nd place winner receives a $750 card and a Nike prize pack!
Jkeevil's video requires the viewer to do more than just watch, but also engage with its moving imagery. This artistic piece is from the point-of-view of a San Fransisco rider observing the city while riding through its pristine, yet environmentally challenged streets. One memorable shot in particular is of a ship likened to an oil rig boat. The camera shot mimics the perspective of peeping through a submarine ship's periscope, as if looking at itself through itself. The camera shots function as a self-reflective metaphor, asking us not to simply exist within our environments but to contemplate our purpose within these environments, particulalry in making them better and more sustainable. Big ups to Jkeevil for making us think beyond the surface!
The People's Choice award winner will recieve a $500 card and Nike shoes.
Super-duper congrats to all the winners! Another BIG shout out to all of the contestants that participated in the Beat Gasoline contest. Your efforts mean so much for the cause. Even though the Beat Gasoline contest is over, the movement of finding new and alternative means of transportion has just begun! Continue to make change by spreading your videos and photography around to family and friends!
What do Snoop Dogg, Larry King, Yoda, Motley Crue, Brett Michaels, and the LA Dodgers all have in common? This is either the weirdest new celebrity reality tv series ('real world' meets 'rock of love') or this is the Dodgers trying really hard to get our attention.
Along with every other Angeleno, I couldn't avoid noticing the huge "Dodgertown" billboard campaign raging across LA. (Literally, they're like 50 ft long, every four blocks. Oh ya, did I mention they're on backs of buses, too?)
No, "Dodgertown" is not a new reality tv show. According to the LA
Times, the billboards are behind the city's decision to give Dodger
stadium and surrounding area a zipcode: 90090.
(Ummm, definately NOT where Snoop Dogg lives.)
Dodger Stadium has become the FIRST stadium in history to be given a zipcode. Hm.
It seems a little ironic that the first stadium to get its own community would be the Dodgers, infamous for building on a site that required complete eradication of the previous community of Chavez-Ravine. (If you aren't familiar with the Battle of Chavez Ravine, you should read about it or watch the Doc on this ugly part of LA history - racism, red scare, city politics, rich vs poor, the works.)
What does "Dodgertown" mean for future LA history? Possibly nothing. Possibly something. I can't help but wonder, what if all our cities/counties where re-named according to the sports team that could afford to petition the city for their own zipcode???
"Welcome to Yankeeland", "I live in RaidersVille"; or worse, if parks with sell-out corporate sponsor names followed the lead, it could be: "Now Enterting MinuteMaidTown" (Houston Astros), or "Mail to: AT&TCity" (SF Giants) . Now it's beginning to sound like a scene from "Idiocracy." Booyah.
But seriously, what would it mean for a city to be renamed in honor of their sports team? Awhile back, I remembered reading some Noam Chomsky ideas on organized sports, and they're a little, er, dark: “Sports plays a societal role in engendering jingoist and chauvinist attitudes. They're designed to organize a community to be committed to their gladiators.”
(Jingoism and Chauvinism both refer to extreme patriotism marked by aggressive foreign policy or blind belief in national superiority and glory. Ya, I looked it up.)
So, Chomksy doesn't go to football games at MIT, I get it. But as I sat, disgusted in LA traffic (must remember to avoid driving car at all costs) I couldn't help but think dark, Chomskian thoughts about this new "Dodgertown" concept.
Sports can foster international understanding and compassion, and can have a life altering positive effect on many people; there are countless examples, mine included. Take a look at programs like Just Like You that show how more than anything, playing sports can bring kids together across different cities, even countries.
But then there is that dark side of sports: the historic violence, hooliganism, and riots also associated with sports fan rivalries -- things that have induced hatred, caused destruction, and even taken lives. You know how it is when you walk across the section for the other team, and they throw unsettling taunts and insults at you? Those are regular, well-faring people, who would let you go in front of them at the supermarket if you met them otherwise. But a very violent opposition arises when we get inside a stadium with our opposing sports jerseys on.
So my question is, where does Sport go bad?
I'm not sure.
I have a feeling [just a feeling] there's something to be said about the Sports Industry relying on the obsession of fans so they can sell never-ending supplies of jerseys, bobble heads, flags, even customized credit cards - and somehow magnifying this obsession via marketing. But I'd have to ask Chomksy about that. [Chomksy, if you are reading, please answer.]
At any rate, I like watching baseball, knowing my players, and rooting for my team. But as for the billboards...I'll cheer for the Dodgers, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to call my town "Dodgertown."
