The new “drug message” t-shirts by Nike create an uproar
The renowned shoe and athletic apparel company, Nike has found itself in the hot-seat yet again, this time for allegedly endorsing drug use by using controversial phrases on its t-shirts, such as “Get High”, “Ride Pipe” and “Dope.”
As per the charges, these slogans are wrongly associating drug use with extreme sports, creating a false connection between the two and glamorising drug use. While mature people may be able to comprehend the fact that there is absolutely no correlation between
the two things, the same cannot be said about the young people.
Critics further continue to disapprove of Nike going overboard by promoting the use of drugs in order to increase their profits.
The “drug endorsing” phrases are not the only thing that has drawn criticism towards Nike. The company is taking its chances by treading on the thin line between edginess and profanity. The use of slogans such as “Get Wet” and “F Gravity” are not been appreciated
by critics either.
The critics, who include politicians as well as the various pressure groups in America, are working actively against the latest slogans by Nike with the intended motivation of saving the society from falling into drug use and profanity.
One of the pressure groups, an Oregon antidrug group called Oregon Partnership, is trying to gain the support of other factions by sending out letters and asking for their support in the cause. The list of receivers includes The White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy among many others.
The critics are demanding the removal of the controversial and allegedly profane slogan-bearing t-shirts from the store windows, while pursuing a complete removal of the new t-shirts.
In one of the letters sent out to the general manager of a Nike-town store in Boston, mayor of the city Thomas M. Menino directed the general manager to remove the controversial t-shirts from display.
In his letter, he said, “Your window display of T-shirts with drug and profanity wordplay are out of keeping with the character of Boston's Back Bay, our entire city and our aspirations for our young people ... not to mention common sense.”
Responding to the criticism, Nike issued a statement which made it clear that the company took drug abuse very seriously and the accusations of the new t-shirts endorsing anything of the sort were clearly baseless.
According to the company, the language used on the t-shirts is the same as that used commonly by the extreme sports athletes. Rather than promoting drugs, the t-shirts are endorsing action sports and attempting to connect to its community.
To further clarify the stance of the company on the issue, the spokeswomen for Nike, Erin Dobson, said in a statement, “Sport is an antidote to drugs. There is no better adrenaline rush than catching a wave or landing a trick. The language is the same that
skater, BMX'ers and surfers use every day around the world.”
Some of the extreme sports athletes have confirmed the claim that Nike is making about the phrases used on t-shirts being extracted from the everyday language used by the action sports athletes on the streets.
While Nike may be facing a lot of criticism at the moment because of replacing its signature “Just Do It” slogans with the new edgy phrases, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise because of all the publicity that the issue is getting.
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