Wansum Li – Intro to Marketing

The FIFA World Cup is the largest athletic event in the world, drawing millions of spectators every four years. It is no surprise, then, that Adidas’ official sponsorship deal with FIFA for 2010/2014 cost almost $200 million. Nike came out with a clever ad campaign called “Write the Future”. It was a direct move to draw attention away from the official sponsor Adidas. Without explicitly referencing the World Cup, Nike capitalized on the hype to promote its brand. Was Nike’s promotional campaign unethical?

If Nike did not explicitly mention the World Cup, is it off the hook, even if the campaign is clearly referencing the event? Although Nike’s intent was to detract attention from Adidas,I don’t view Nike’s campaign to be particularly unethical. Nike ‘s promotion was clever and likable, used social media to engage the public, and capitalized on the world’s love for the game. In this case, Nike simply outshone Adidas.