Was it a Holocaust joke? Or just an idiotic tone deaf ad at the end of the London Marathon? Either way, a better apology than the one offered up is in order.
This is typical of things I'm noticing whereby the cultural heritage and time-based knowledge has been so diluted by this click-bait generation, that they are now clueless to time based, historical references. I cringe to think what someone may think it means today, to say..."Let them eat cake".
I definitely feel like somewhere between Gen X and Gen Z, we went from being inundated with lessons about the Holocaust, to it barely being mentioned. That, and everything historical, political, demographic, and economical became subject to cultural relativism, which diluted and devalued old standards.
At $27 million in a compensation package, one would expect him to do better. He’s old enough to get the reference and to understand how offensive it is so many people. Perhaps he isn’t “hands on” enough to have stopped the campaign but he is powerful enough to fire or replace the marketing team who ran it. From their superbowl add to this, they are not a brand I will support.
The thing about Elliot is that, in 2019, he didn’t “retire”, rather he was part of the purge (layoffs). He was let go right before the CDA initiative kicked off (which was when the company’s handlers truly took Nike down their globalist-agenda rabbit hole). So, he missed much of the insanity (and might be unaware of what happened).
Elliot is well respected and seen as a true authentic “Nike leader” (as opposed to the investor puppet of Donahoe), and was brought back to promote the image that the company is realigning with its authentic roots… but it’s still controlled by the globalist “institutional investors”, so the “realignment” is a facade (and I don’t think Elliott actually holds the controlling reigns).
Nike purged most of its strong and discerning “true Nike leadership” back before the launch of its CDA effort, and now most power-positions have been backfilled with “global leaders” (or individuals compliant to those global leaders). HR was also purged and replaced , and a “human capital” management software was introduced. Now most in the decision making realms are quite tone deaf… which explains how Nike is continually out of touch and off the mark.
“Nike” isn’t Nike anymore.
(Super interesting that Ackman weighed in to thump on Nike… he’s been quietly getting a deeper foothold in the company. He and others stealthily have plans for Nike)
I am 100% sure there was adult supervision, and this ad was the result. We are too kind to think Nike’a executive were simply sloppy. The antisemitism is omnipresent, and not acknowledging it is burying our heads in sand.
At the same time it is true that younger generation is not taught history and/or despises history lessons because they think they are smarter and better. Maybe that’s why history will always repeat itself.
The Forward, in Yiddish, Forverts, was the most widely read Yiddish periodical in the US. It had subscription of 275,000 and it was bought weekly from news stands in New York City by many more. It had an advice column, Bintel Brief, in which heartrending stories were published, letters of the American cousins of Jews trapped in Europe before World War II, asking landsman, that is, American Jews whose families came from those Polish and Pale of the Settlement (the area of the Russian Empire in which the czars allowed Jews to live), to give money to help bring them out of the jaws of death. I subscribed to it in the 1990s, when the first 2 pages were published in Yiddish, the rest of the paper in English. It had very cute, circumspect dating ads in the back, for Jews "looking for a mensch." I just finished reading Bintel Brief. Thank you, Jennifer, for this. I will now memorialize a survivor of Auschwitz that I knew in Brooklyn. His name was Leo Huberman and he was from a Hasidic family in Poland. My older son noticed the number on his arm, which I noticed, was shorter than most Holocaust survivors. He was a teenager when he was forced into the cattle car that took him there. I used to have his number memorized. I wish I'd written it down. But then, he didn't choose that number. Nike digs itself in, deeper and deeper, doesn't it. I never bought their shoes or clothes and now it's a personal boycott.
Zikhronam l'vracha. May his and their memories be a blessing.
The significance of a shorter number means he was one of the first taken, and unusual that he survived. He endured longer than most. He lost his faith, but loved the children. We used to sit with him on the benches of Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn.
I appreciate your insider-take on issues like this. I often wonder when I see off-the-mark ad campaigns, did a room full of people reviewing this all actually nod and agree it was good?
Or perhaps the joke referred to running the London marathon since, as you say in your article, never again is a phrase frequently used by competitors after finishing the race.
This is typical of things I'm noticing whereby the cultural heritage and time-based knowledge has been so diluted by this click-bait generation, that they are now clueless to time based, historical references. I cringe to think what someone may think it means today, to say..."Let them eat cake".
If you don’t actually teach history, you don’t know history. We just can’t have nice things…
I definitely feel like somewhere between Gen X and Gen Z, we went from being inundated with lessons about the Holocaust, to it barely being mentioned. That, and everything historical, political, demographic, and economical became subject to cultural relativism, which diluted and devalued old standards.
Nike HQ is in Portland (Beaverton, OR) sooo…
there’s that 🤦🏻♂️🧐.
‘But maybe Nike should consider employing just one young person with some cultural acuity and some reasonable knowledge of history.’
About that: if I’m Nike I might delete ‘young’ and see if the fails get any less epic. Worth a try!
At $27 million in a compensation package, one would expect him to do better. He’s old enough to get the reference and to understand how offensive it is so many people. Perhaps he isn’t “hands on” enough to have stopped the campaign but he is powerful enough to fire or replace the marketing team who ran it. From their superbowl add to this, they are not a brand I will support.
https://fortune.com/2024/09/19/nike-new-ceo-millions-payday-jordan/
The thing about Elliot is that, in 2019, he didn’t “retire”, rather he was part of the purge (layoffs). He was let go right before the CDA initiative kicked off (which was when the company’s handlers truly took Nike down their globalist-agenda rabbit hole). So, he missed much of the insanity (and might be unaware of what happened).
Elliot is well respected and seen as a true authentic “Nike leader” (as opposed to the investor puppet of Donahoe), and was brought back to promote the image that the company is realigning with its authentic roots… but it’s still controlled by the globalist “institutional investors”, so the “realignment” is a facade (and I don’t think Elliott actually holds the controlling reigns).
Amazing that Nike can be so consistently stupid. Or are they just pure evil?
Hmmmmmmmm
Wow, I thought this must be a gag post, but no. WTF!
Nike purged most of its strong and discerning “true Nike leadership” back before the launch of its CDA effort, and now most power-positions have been backfilled with “global leaders” (or individuals compliant to those global leaders). HR was also purged and replaced , and a “human capital” management software was introduced. Now most in the decision making realms are quite tone deaf… which explains how Nike is continually out of touch and off the mark.
“Nike” isn’t Nike anymore.
(Super interesting that Ackman weighed in to thump on Nike… he’s been quietly getting a deeper foothold in the company. He and others stealthily have plans for Nike)
Things like this happen from allowing younger folks to run ad campaigns, and then there is a lack of older adult supervision.
I am 100% sure there was adult supervision, and this ad was the result. We are too kind to think Nike’a executive were simply sloppy. The antisemitism is omnipresent, and not acknowledging it is burying our heads in sand.
At the same time it is true that younger generation is not taught history and/or despises history lessons because they think they are smarter and better. Maybe that’s why history will always repeat itself.
Nike is a vile corporation
Apparently there were Palestinians flags all along g the route. So there's that.
The Forward, in Yiddish, Forverts, was the most widely read Yiddish periodical in the US. It had subscription of 275,000 and it was bought weekly from news stands in New York City by many more. It had an advice column, Bintel Brief, in which heartrending stories were published, letters of the American cousins of Jews trapped in Europe before World War II, asking landsman, that is, American Jews whose families came from those Polish and Pale of the Settlement (the area of the Russian Empire in which the czars allowed Jews to live), to give money to help bring them out of the jaws of death. I subscribed to it in the 1990s, when the first 2 pages were published in Yiddish, the rest of the paper in English. It had very cute, circumspect dating ads in the back, for Jews "looking for a mensch." I just finished reading Bintel Brief. Thank you, Jennifer, for this. I will now memorialize a survivor of Auschwitz that I knew in Brooklyn. His name was Leo Huberman and he was from a Hasidic family in Poland. My older son noticed the number on his arm, which I noticed, was shorter than most Holocaust survivors. He was a teenager when he was forced into the cattle car that took him there. I used to have his number memorized. I wish I'd written it down. But then, he didn't choose that number. Nike digs itself in, deeper and deeper, doesn't it. I never bought their shoes or clothes and now it's a personal boycott.
Zikhronam l'vracha. May his and their memories be a blessing.
The significance of a shorter number means he was one of the first taken, and unusual that he survived. He endured longer than most. He lost his faith, but loved the children. We used to sit with him on the benches of Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn.
I am Brooklyn born, Ute.
Typographical treatment to form an inverted pyramid.
A favored symbol of the KKKeffiyahs.
Purposeful reference to both Never Again and Next Year in Jerusalem.
Yes you aren't the first to point this out. it's a good point. plus the red/nazi color. certainly hard to make it seem like an accident.
I appreciate your insider-take on issues like this. I often wonder when I see off-the-mark ad campaigns, did a room full of people reviewing this all actually nod and agree it was good?
Yes
well, they are in Portland. So they probably had AI review it.
Or perhaps the joke referred to running the London marathon since, as you say in your article, never again is a phrase frequently used by competitors after finishing the race.
Its just two words that form a fairly common phrase that most everyone has used at one time or another Stop seeing monsters under your bed.
What a wonderful world it would be if people actually believed in Nie Wieder.