Botched launches of Arsenal’s kit and Nike’s trainer exposes halfwitted naivety among wizards of merchandisingDoes any profession attract a higher percentage of sweet summer children than sportswear marketing? We are encouraged to think of this most modern discipline as a sophisticated, perhaps even cutthroat world, where promotional and sales whizzes compete to be the best of the best in the battle to market various symphonies in sweat-wicking polyester and cheap leather.In which case, why does the appearance of halfwitted naivety continue to dog these 360-degree thinkers? This week alone, Adidas and Arsenal have had to shut down a social media initiative after its promise to tweet pictures of its new kit with fan Twitter handles on it saw the official...
The free agent succeeded by starting a conversation, but for at least one week of breathless hype it was almost impossible to hearSix years ago this week, a 25-year-old mid-season injury replacement for the San Francisco 49ers stepped onto the field at the Superdome in New Orleans, becoming only the fourth quarterback to start in a Super Bowl in the same season as his first career start. So much has transpired in the time since Colin Kaepernick’s metamorphosis into the most divisive figure in American sports, and one could argue society at large, that it’s easy to forget the overnight sensation he generated as a mostly anonymous understudy in dizzying ascent, captivating the country with his rare blend of arm...
From the Tiger Woods ‘Did you learn anything?’ advert to denials about the benefits of anti-racism campaigns, Nike are easy to see through. But they do back winnersOnce, it used to be said that conservatives start culture wars and liberals win them. That old dependable has felt … less convincing of late. But for those of us looking for runes to read, Nike signing a major endorsement deal with Colin Kaepernick is surely a positive sign. Nike’s market research department is larger and more sophisticated than the second Death Star, and if their cost-benefit analysis judges Kaepernick the one to back in a fight where the other side includes the US president, then frankly: I’ll take it. No, I don’t...
The league thinks it can appease the president on player protests, but Trump’s latest broadside makes it clear that’s not the caseIt’s funny. It’s almost as if the president wants people talking about a handful of NFL players taking a knee at the start of a preseason football game rather than, say, anything else currently going on in the United States. On Thursday night, a couple of Miami Dolphins players took a knee during the national anthem as part of an ongoing symbolic protest against social injustice and police brutality. Once again, president Donald Trump went on Twitter to denounce the players and demand that the NFL put a stop to it.The NFL players are at it again - taking...
It doesn’t take a genius to see why RG3 is getting another shot with a third team in four years while Kaepernick’s NFL career appears deadNo matter what would eventually happen, Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick were destined to be linked forever as the faces of a quarterback revolution in the NFL. For four wonderful months in the fall of 2012 they, along with Seattle’s Russell Wilson, offered a tantalizing glimpse of the future: signal-callers who ran as well as they threw. They inspired words rarely used in NFL offenses, spawning talk of “zone reads” and “the pistol”.While Cam Newton had already established himself as a pass and run threat, the sudden arrival of Griffin, Kaepernick and Wilson that...