“Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” The strapline of Nike’s 30th anniversary.....
BUMPY RIDE
Nike’s controversial ad
“Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” The strapline of Nike’s 30th anniversary campaign featuring NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was not well received in the USA given the ruling government is still angry over his decision to sit/kneel during the national anthem as a form of protest against racial injustice in the US. The ad sparked backlash from its consumers who burned and destroyed their branded apparel. Following Kaepernick’s Nike tweet, the hashtag #NikeBoycott also started trending on Twitter.
Nike said he was “one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation”. Other athletes including Nike-sponsored Odell Beckham Jr. LeBron James, and Serena Williams back the campaign. The NFL’s opinion stands thus: “The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action. ... We embrace the role and responsibility of everyone involved with this game to promote meaningful, positive change in our communities.”
Sana Safinaz in hot waters
The brand’s 2018 lawn campaign was criticised for allegedly reinforcing racism and cultural appropriation. The images, which were later removed from their social media, showed using African Masaai tribe as props.
After the uproar, a statement was also released that said, “We are, proud of the work we did with the Maasai, especially the women, and stand by it.” They defended it as “join[ing] hands with some travel companies who ensure that eco-tourism provides [the Masaai] with income while protecting their lands.
“We appreciate the burden of responsibility placed upon us and we try and carry this forward with care and consideration. We want to categorically state that at no point did we want to offend anyone.”
Kim Kardashian’s “flawed” body positive fragrance campaign
KKW Body - Kim Kardashian’s new fragrance for her cosmetics line was in a bottle modeled after Kim’s figure. The (nude) images posted to the reality-TV star and influencer’s Instagram included those of herself making the mould. From the notion that the general design lacked originality, that it seemed to be a copy of Jean Paul Gaultier’s perfume Classique to the newer editions that the bottles, despite their fair share of cellulite, stretch marks, and rolls, had the hairs edited out and hence were not exactly celebrating diversity. They seemed “photoshopped” and “not realistic” as social media users pointed out, especially when compared to the growing movement championed by Rihanna or Megan Crabbe.
While she loves the Gaultier bottle, Kardashian shared her inspiration was a statue. “We were making a mold of my body for the fragrance, but we were also making it to make a big sculpture,” she added. In an interview regarding the new campaign, she explained the real message was “just to be confident within your own skin.”
Hum Awards 2018 uproar
When the Pakistan’s media industry stars missed (or opted not to) cast their votes in the General Elections 2018, it caused a public outcry. While some actors flew to Canada after they’d cast their votes and some managed to make it to Pakistan in the nick of time to vote and travel back to honour work commitments, most of them took to social media to clarify their positions while urging others to go out and vote.
The channel’s response: “The date for 6th Hum Awards was decided months in advance to the announcement of election date. An event of this magnitude requires a lot of planning and preparation. Also, since a lot of resources have to be committed for the event and contractual commitments with international sponsors are made in advance it is not possible to change the date.”
The (un)popular Kiki challenge
One video that went viral on social media this year was of Eva Zubeck performing the Kiki Challenge inside an empty aircraft. Not only did the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was criticised, but the Polish tourist/vlogger was also blamed of violating the security codes of the national airlines as well as humiliating the national flag.
The airlines had earlier tweeted that it was a promotional video. However, it denied there was any collaboration as soon as the National Accountability Bureau took notice of the issue, and the footage showing the foreigner dancing with the Pakistan’s national flag around her was deleted from the PIA’s page.
On her part, Eva issued a clarification: “To give it a bit of context, I was with PIA doing a vlog about travelling to Karachi and someone suggested while were there - why not do a Kiki challenge video? So I though sure it could be a fun way to promote tourism in Pakistan. Of course I meant only positive things and I will continue making it my mission on my social media feeds to promote Pakistan tourism and to promote the culture and people here.”
Mark Zuckerberg trial
The 34-year-old chief executive was held in account for the whistleblower at Cambridge Analytica, which used data from more than 87 million users. At the trial, Mark Zuckerberg emphasised, “it’s important to tell people exactly how the information that they share on Facebook is going to be used.”
Even though it did not answer whether users have an understanding of what else Facebook collects on its own, he conceded the mess was his mistake. “I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here. It’s not enough to just connect people. We have to make sure that those connections are positive. It’s not enough to just give people a voice. We need to make sure that people aren’t using it to harm other people or to spread misinformation. And it’s not enough to just give people control over their information. We need to make sure that the developers they share it with protect their information, too.”
Compiled by SZ
