Nike Probably Doesn’t Mind If Angry White Dudes Burn Their Shoes | Vice News

Over the Labor Day weekend, some people chose to exercise their rights as Americans to burn their shoes.

They uploaded videos and images of themselves destroying their own Nike products to protest Nike’s new campaign, which features the face of Colin Kaepernick and the caption, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

The ad references Kaepernick’s choice to kneel during the pregame national anthem in protest of police treatment of minorities — a protest that, according to multiple polls, most Americans don’t approve of. So why would a company as big as Nike want to sacrifice a big chunk of their customer base for politics?

In short, because it’s not politics. It’s business. And Nike is gambling that the people who are angry about the ad won’t affect their bottom line much.

“I think Nike is very okay with losing those people as customers,” says Ian Schafer, founder and former CEO of Deep Focus, which has worked with Nike in the past.