Marketing | Humor

The Joke That Tanked Nike’s Multimillion-Dollar Sponsorship

A lesson on the value of tact and not hiring children to do your labor.

CleftClips via Wikimedia Commons

It’s not often that a person tanks a million-dollar opportunity in one question, and a joking one at that.

But — they say any good joke contains an element of truth. Perhaps this one contained a little too much.

Nike’s Notable Marketing Blunders

Nike has a quirky and sometimes controversial marketing history.

There was the racist Betsy Ross flag, which had ties to slavery, and which was quickly called off.

Nike via CNN (Public Domain)

There were more subtle controversies, such as sponsoring Jackass star and pro skateboarder, Bam Margera despite not having any shoes designed for skateboarding.

Unsurprisingly, Margera hated wearing them. So much so that, to keep his sponsorship, he secretly cut the logos off and put them on other skating shoes.

Then there were reports that Nike was cutting sponsorships from female athletes who got…