Brands Have Something To Say About Racism. Why Does It All Look The Same?

It all began on Friday when Nike flipped the script on its iconic tagline with a message directly addressing the protests in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd that inflamed issues of systemic racial inequality and police brutality. The bold statement in white letters over a dark or black background here is consistent with past Nike efforts around social issues, like 2017’s “Equality” spot or 2019’s “Never Stop Winning” in support of the U.S. women’s national soccer team and gender equality. And of course, it echoes Nike’s most famous and relevant social statement, its 2018 post featuring Colin Kaepernick and the line, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” This anti-racism spot is all that, mixed with the gravitas and calculated text reveal that we’ve seen, for example, in the award-winning “The Truth Is . . . ” campaigns from the New York Times. Read more at Fast Company.