Nike unveils first commercial featuring Kaepernick
Nike has released its first full-length commercial featuring Colin Kaepernick.
In the spot, which was released on YouTube on Wednesday, Kaepernick encourages viewers to dream big and "crazy," highlighting the stories of a number of inspiring athletes like LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Shaquem Griffin. While standing in front of a waving American flag projected onto the side of a building, Kaepernick then says, "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything."
The phrase appeared on an ad posted Monday on Twitter, in the company's announcement that it would be teaming up with the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback for its latest "Just Do It" campaign. The phrase is the only reference, albeit an oblique one, to Kaepernick's activism and the ensuing fallout. Kaepernick is currently in the middle of suing the NFL, alleging that the league's owners have colluded to keep him from being hired after he pioneered football players kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racism.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Nike's new Kaepernick ad will air on NBC during Thursday night's NFL season opener, per The Hollywood Reporter. For now, you can watch it via Nike's YouTube channel below. Brendan Morrow
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
‘The worry is far from fanciful’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How are Americans bracing for the end of SNAP?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Millions depend on supplemental federal food funds that are set to expire this month, as the government shutdown begins to be acutely felt
-
Book review: ‘Joyride: A Memoir’Feature A journalist’s story of how she chased and accomplished her dreams
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
