Apple and Nike?

[sw1tcher]

Hmmm- that sounds like a bad move. Besides all the other good things about apple, I thought they attracted a kinda 'think different--think for yourself' crowd. The kind that sort of shuns places Nike, which uses sweatshop labor. Maybe its a superficial, well-marketed attraction, but I thought it was there intentionally. I guess that's a segmet they can afford to lose.

Agreed. Many Mac users/Apple fans I know hate what NIKE does.

Good point about the "think different -- think for yourself" crowd. It seems to me that such a partnership would be a terrible idea. I think many Apple users would be turned off by this. I know I am.

 

[sahnert]

Sounds weird... I think we're only getting half the story here. Is Nike going to cross-promote Apple in some way?

remember that blurb about the Chinese(?) clothing company that wouldn't let apple make apparel because the logo was too similar? Maybe now apple has an outlet for it's clothing line.

 

[alms]

Terrible Move

This could really hurt Apple on campuses. The anti-sweatshop movement is still very strong on campuses, and for those groups Nike is the symbol of all things bad. If the Apple brand gets strongly associated with Nike, it could really hurt.

Someone didn't do their background research.

 

[Savage Henry]

I'm wi' joo ...

But Nike is basically THE symbol of sweatshop labor. Everyone knows it, even if they buy Nike shoes anyway (which I never have and never will, btw). So this promotion says that Apple is willing to be associated with a company notorious for making poor little children slave away for next to nothing.

I really isn't good public association but makes excellent business sense ... rather like a sweatshop really. Hooray for market share and stock price!!

Nike Not Good: Short Story
I was looking for running shoes and found some Nike, made in Indonesia pricing £59 (or US $100). I then saw some New Balance, made in UK, for the same price. I then thought : UK shoe manufacturing employee $7 an hour, Indonesian 10¢. It made me sad.

 

[stingerman]

I have never liked NIKE, I do not like this partnership.........


I have always refused to buy shoes (and other items) that I KNOW have been produced by sweatshop labor.

You limousine liberal, what would you rather have these kids doing in those poor countries. If you take away their work, it's either child prostitution or starvation. While they make comparably horrible wages their wages goes a lot further and keeps them out of the prostitution trade. killing oversees labor does the children more harm than good and only enriches national union mobsters.

 

[bdkennedy1]

How is Apple advertising a bad thing? How is Apple partnering up with the #1 shoemaker a bad thing? How is Apple partnering up with any number of MAJOR corporations in any way a bad thing?

How is it not a bad thing? I mean why is Nike promoting their products through Apple when Apple can't even advertise correctly? When was the last time you saw a PowerMac G5 commercial on TV? How about an iMac commercial? How about a commercial for any Apple product that's been shown more than 6 times? I'm sick of it actually.

Is Nike going to put the Apple logo on their shoes? If not I don't see any reason why Apple should promote them.

 

[ITR 81]

I can't say I care for Nike much. Those 9-year-olds on a dollar a week do make great shoes though! Strategically I realize Nike is a popular brand... I wonder what Apple gets out of this--how Nike will promote Apple?

Most Nikes I have owned are made in Taiwan or Korea.
Most New Balances which is what I wear now are mostly all made in China.

I think China pays less.

Nike commercial with Apple Computers or that endorses Apple in some way or fashion.

Nike commercial for running shoe with iPod Mini discount or something like that.

 

[ITR 81]

I Got it!

Nike ID will allow you to sport some Apple Design sneakers.

Maybe even t-shirts and such.

 

[Koodauw]

I Love Apple. I love Nike. If I could get Apple shoes made by Nike, I think it would be heaven. Although, I (along with everyone else it seems) don't see the how this will help Apple.
Nike shoes are awesome though. Does it get any better than these?

 

[Indiana Mac]

Well Apple finally gets in the marketing groove, and stops releasing hardware...

 

[kirk26]

Bah, Reebok still owns!

 

[jsw]

I have never liked NIKE, I do not like this partnership.........


I have always refused to buy shoes (and other items) that I KNOW have been produced by sweatshop labor.

First of all, as others have said, what you consider to be offensive sweatshop labor might actually be saving the life of a family overseas. Most of the world's population doesn't have the option of choosing to avoid certain jobs.

Second, it seems a bit "head-in-the-sand" to base your decisions on what you happen to see in the news. It is unlikely that many of the products you own did not, at some point along the line, involve taking advantage of someone who was poor. I don't think that ignorance is an acceptable excuse when you choose to stand on principle.

 

[speakster]

How is it not a bad thing? I mean why is Nike promoting their products through Apple when Apple can't even advertise correctly? When was the last time you saw a PowerMac G5 commercial on TV? How about an iMac commercial? How about a commercial for any Apple product that's been shown more than 6 times?

I suppose you're not taking into account the ipod ads?

 

[JohnGillilan]

What do your shoes say about you? That you’re a fan of USC?

Fight on!!

 

[rjgjonker]

I think this would be a rather bad move.

First of all, there is the already discussed child labour issue, wouldn't be too good for Apple to be associated with a brand so much associated with child labour and terriible working conditions.

Secondly, Nike hasn't been very popular the last few years. You don't see much Nike shoes and clothing on the streets anymore, it's all Adidas and Puma nowadays. I suppose their out of fashion or something.

The most important issue, however, is that this could be beneficial to Nike, but I really don't see what's in in for Apple. Both Apple and Nike are already quite well-known brands, especially products like the iPod have added to Apple's brand-strength.

This is, however, about Nike products, I don't think the Apple brand will help much in that. Besides, mindshare is far more important for selling Nike's products than it is for selling Apple's.

After all, I don't suppose such a deal would be in Apple's best interests.

 

[ALoLA]

Um, I might be mistaken, but aren't those sweatshop claims old news? I'd be surprised if they're still using sweatshops to manufacture their goods. Now, don't equate overseas manufacturing with sweatshop conditions. Not all overseas factories are sweatshops. Just because they have low cost labor (by our standards) doesn't make it bad. In most cases, I suspect the workers are making good money for their countries.

Personally, I think too many people are too quick to jump on the latest protest bandwagon without researching the issue. As a previous poster noted, think different. Think first.

 

[GrannySmith_G5]

maybe nike will be the next company to re-brand the ipod. They sell mp3 players don't they?

<very bored here.>

 

[MacKenzie999]

$.02 from a marketing guy

Nike is an advertising powerhouse and their presence is everywhere. I have nothing to back this up but I would bet that more people who are potential Nike-buyers have a positive association with the brand then a negative one. Apple stand to alienate a few buyers, maybe, but the extra exposure should far outweigh the bad. It would take a hell of a lot more then a potentially negative partnership to make me give up using macs.


The one thing I wonder about is conflict of interest: Nike also sell mp3 players, so I doubt the iPod will factor into whetever this venture entails.

peace out

 

[jsw]

This could really hurt Apple on campuses. The anti-sweatshop movement is still very strong on campuses, and for those groups Nike is the symbol of all things bad. If the Apple brand gets strongly associated with Nike, it could really hurt.

Someone didn't do their background research.

Well, hopefully at least some of the students actually think about what they're objecting to and realize that it's not as terrible or as clear-cut as they believe. They either have to boycott virtually everything (and, of course, they're still stuck with knowing that their homes are likely on what used to be Indian territory until it was stolen by the government...), or they have to get on with life. Life isn't fair. If they're that concerned about injustice, they should join the Peace Corps. Presumably, they already realize that not buying Nike shoes means someone in Indonesia (or wherever) loses a job. Yeah, that's sound reasoning.

Look, I think it's terrible that the average worldwide standard of living is so bad. But not buying Nike shoes isn't going to help it at all. Buying non-sweatshop shoes just keeps the money in the developed countries, which actually worsens things.

So, I guess, the more sweatshop-based stuff you buy, the more you help the third world.

So, then, cheers to Apple for choosing Nike.

 

[SuperChuck]

Nike will sell some shoes. Apple will sell some iPods.

Everyone seems to be wondering what's in this for Apple. Although no one can be sure, my bet is that this is an iPod cross-promotion. The iPod is a perfect fit with the trendy, athletic types who are so obsessed about the look of their shoes that they feel the need to design them from scratch. These shoes are for those people that use the word "accessorize" far too often, and there is no better accessory for the morning jog than an iPod.

BTW, the web design on the shoe-building application is outstanding.

 

[cc bcc]

I don't know if Safari is screwing things up, but I get a Netscape flavicon at the Nike site..

 

[2neDesign]

Here's the breakdown

NikeID has been around for a number of years, but previously the interface was slow, inconsistent, slow, and didn't work well on Macs.

NikeID as it exists today is super nice, all in flash, and runs super fast on my Mac.

I'm guessing Nike is now using Apple technology for NikeID, whether for creation of the site or the server backend. That's why there is the tie-in.

And for those of you saying Nike is dead, dream on. Not only am I a Mac-Head, I'm a Shoe-Head. I've got over 30 pairs, most of them over $50, and I quite enjoy them. There is a pretty significant subculture devoted to collecting shoes, both vintage, new, retro, and limited. They're the ones who camped out at NikeTown NYC overnight in the cold and rain for a chance to buy limited shoes designed by Pharrell, ESPO, and Jennifer Garner. They're the ones who waited in line for over a mile in Tokyo for a chance to buy 1 out of the 200 pairs of super limited Nike Dunks (the most sought-after shoes). They're also the ones who have significant money to spend, who follow closely what the "hipsters" are doing, and who are naturaly drawn to Macs and iPods.

Nike is cool because you can't buy certain styles everywhere and have a different ethos than other brands
Apple is cool because they focus on what others don't, and realize there is an intangible benefit to the design aesthetic of a piece of technology.

The more Apple can be seen as unique and interesting and worth-while by yet another segment of the population, especially younger people who are having less and less exposure to Macs in schools, the better chance Apple has to get new customers and make money. Which is, lest we forget, the aim of any business.

 

[eSnow]

Whoa, so Apple is going to outsource computer production to child-labor sweatshops? Terrific idea to co-market with Nike...

 

[JohnGillilan]

I just called an Apple Store -- they said the significance/hope of the promotion is that consumers will order their shoes to match their new iPod mini.

 

[yamabushi]

It appears that this campaign is intended to draw in customers to try out a Mac in order to place an order for NikeID. I doubt this will be very successful unless some additional incentive (such as a price discount) is provided to place the order at an Apple store.