Survey shows Kaepernick campaign has already taken a toll on Nike
Nike’s new ad campaign featuring former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is tanking the company’s favorability ratings, according to a survey from Morning Consult, a polling company.
The company, which surveyed more than 8,000 people before and after the print and TV ads were released earlier this week, said that Nike’s favorability ratings have dropped sharply.
"Before the announcement, Nike had a net +69 favorable impression among consumers, it has now declined 34 points to +35 favorable," Morning Consult wrote in its report.
The ad campaign features Kaepernick, the athlete-turned-activist who knelt during the national anthem to protest mistreatment of minorities in the U.S.
The ad copy reads: “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”
Kaepernick has not played for an NFL team since opting out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers in March 2017. Since then, the NFL has been dealing with an ongoing controversy over players protesting during the national anthem.
President Donald Trump even tweeted about the Nike ad campaign.
"Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts," the president tweeted. "I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way? As far as the NFL is concerned, I just find it hard to watch, and always will, until they stand for the FLAG!"Morning Consult’s First Poll released on Thursday morning found:
- Only 2 percent of Americans reported hearing something negative about Nike recently. That number jumped to 33 percent following the announcement.
- Republicans had the biggest swing, with those "like to purchase Nike goods" declining from 51 percent to 28 percent.