Nike Ad Edited quickly by me

i guess this is a culture jam thing isn't it.

quicky about another similar nike ad

An ad just like this the other one (big text black background, over the top dunk), also from Nike was recently scrapped because it was generating homophobic criticism (Hunsberger 2008). The image also incorporates the stereotypical white guy to make it even edgier. I don't think that race should has anything to do with this, but it is an easy target that can generate easy negative criticism.

This image shows direct crotch to face contact along with the text posted in capitals "THAT AIN'T RIGHT" that caused enough controversy for Nike to cancel the ads that where even shown on billboards in Oregon. The previous posts ad image seems to have kept the discriminating dunk image, but went for a more conservative, less stirring approach.


HunsBerger, Brent. "Is Nike's Hyperdunk ad homophobic?". Playbooks and Profits blog. 2008. Oregon Live.com. September 30th, 2008.

Ad Analysis: Crotch In Your Face Disgrace

These were full page ads in SLAM, a basketball magazine. They are sequential ads that carry a very short message. They also appear on separate pages, so you'd have to flip the page in order to see the next one. It is a Nike ad, displaying their product the Nike Hyperdunk. Nike is as we all know the corporate monster of sports shoe of our lifetime that is also largely associated with sweat shop standards. I targeted Nike in my previous ad because it caught my attention, and again this ad, part of my personal "The Porcelain Tuba" Daily newspaper. Nike's surrounds me, so why not analyze it further.
I think the ad is trying to portray the shoe as hyper-inducing, athletic ability you will get by wearing these shoes that will allow you to discriminate your opponent. The image is very similar to the dunk Vince Carter had of the US had OVER (literally over) Frederic Weis of France in the 2000 Olympic match-up. Did I mention Monsieur Weis is 7'2"?! This is an iconic dunk that is known throughout hoops culture. So many bloggers, video posters, journalists, writers, and even those who comment on videos have touched on the discriminating power this dunk has on the defender. It has been called "le dunk le mort," meaning the dunk of death. When I say discriminating I mean, embarrassing. However there are all kinds of racial stereotypes that occur in sports. Frederic Weis is labelled as the stereotypical white 7 footer that plays basketball, slow, unathletic and uncoordinated. Nike avoids all the negative racial stereotypical comments that occurred after the Vince Carter dunk. F Nike avoids all this by using the same skin colour in the ad.
The text in the ad plays of the embarrassment of the dunk. The trashing talking text, "at least your mama still loves you... your girlfriend, your dad, your cousin , not so much," provides a comical attraction for their desired audience (all hoop heads). The page flipping to show the next scene and carry on the text also engages the reader, making the ad all the more memorable.
Other than that it is a relatively simple ad with a black background, putting focus on the dunk and dunk, leaving it up to you to imagine the location which would occur if were to wear the Hyperdunks!
I honestly like the look of the product (Nike Hyperdunks), I don't think I attribute that to the ad. As proof from this and last, post I am a sneaker head. The ad gives me a laugh, forces me to recall the Vince Carter dunk, and lets me envision myself in the situation. I think Nike did its job at getting me to remember its ad, push it into my head so Hyperdunk will ring in my head as I pass Footlocker or Champs.

My Media Log - October 6th, 2008

11:00am - I wake up, turn off my alarm clock, and then turn on my computer. While waiting for the computer to start up I turn on the TV and watched "How Its Made" on the discovery channel and briefly saw how they make recycled plastic.

My computer loads and I go through my daily routine (in order)...

- I browse through news articles related to the NBA. I am on this site almost every day, I crave the gossip and news of the NBA. The interactive capabilities, easy viewing stats presentation, and a large choice of daily articles about the NBA and related basketball news keeps me constantly satisfied and entertained...CHECK

Hotmail - read emails (mostly consisting of dirty humour that my uncle forwards to me and his friends), then I delete junk (consisting mostly of male enhancement advertisements) ...CHECK

Blackboard...check to see if there's any new announcements or grades...CHECK

UoG mail...read emails...CHECK


2:30pm - After I get back from class I listen to music while I get started on my homework. I think it is fair to consider music a very obvious form of media. The type of music being played, the lyrics that stand out, the images I get from the music and the appearance of the artists that are portrayed in my head that are playing all influence me in different ways. They can influence my mood, influence my opinions, influence my train of thought, and possibly subliminally affect me in various ways. This could have an influence on what I believe in or even what I wear.

4:30pm - My reading starts in the bathroom. My gospel, SLAM, a basketball magazine puts in a Zen state to do my business. It is a supplement to NBA.com. More opinionated, more in depth and more creative writing and also more advertisements. Unlike web pages where my attention seems to focus on the written articles, full page advertisements force my attentions as I flip the page. There are no pop-up blockers in this damn magazine. Ads consist of companies trying to sell you products that either make you a better basketball player or make you more popular socially. Advertisements that attract my attention are ones that contain a combine basketball with a motivational or comical quote or image. Could this be a source of attraction for products and brands that I purchase?

10:00pm - I read Understanding Comics before I go to bed.

As I reflect on my daily expose to media I notice that my media life large centers around my computer, here when I have free time I choose to entertain myself with information and videos that humour me and inform me with daily information that matters enough to me that I will spend almost 1/4 of my day wasting on. I feel like music has a large influence on the social portrayal of me. Reading and learning (in books or on the web) is a daily phenomenon that directs my education in a particular direction for a course. In my Ecology course we are directed to research about commercial fish farming. I feel like this class is directing my attention in a broader aspect, it has to since media because effect us in so many ways. Although I feel like I don't pay attention to advertisements much, I realize that the media I do participate in still has a similar influence on my social and self appearance.

Culture Jamming

Here is an example of culture jamming by Jonah Peretti. Jonah wanted to create a shoe from the Nike iD site. Nike iD is a site that lets you personalize a Nike shoe with the colours of your choice and "iD" the shoe with a small personal message. Usually people will choose their nickname, team name, or something of meaning. Jonah decided to ID his shoe with the word "sweatshop."

Although Jonah did not break any of the iD'ing rules...

1) Your Personal iD contains another party's trademark or other intellectual property.
2) Your Personal iD contains the name of an athlete or team we do not have the legal right to use.
3) Your Personal iD was left blank. Did you not want any personalization?
4) Your Personal iD contains profanity or inappropriate slang, and besides, your mother would slap us.

...his order was denied by Nike because he used "inappropriate slang."


I don't think anyone in the world except Nike would consider the word sweatshop inappropriate slang. However, Nike has the right to refuse any iD that is tagged on their shoe, especially one that would tarnish their own product.

Nike gives their consumers the ability to personalize their shoe to give them a shoe that provides a sense of uniqueness. They want to give us a shoe that we can say defines us. They want their consumers to be able to say this shoe IS ME, and DEFINES ME AS A PERSON. Jonah attacks Nike's sweatshop partnership through its own creative intentions by incorporating his own sense of creative and satirical ideas.

I, myself am a basketball player and have previously ordered my own pair of personalized Nike iD basketball shoes and am even at this moment wearing a pair of Nike sandals. Will I continue to buy Nike shoes? Yes. Do I support Nike in its labour practices? No. So what do I do? I think about this every time I buy a new pair of shoes. What is more important the shoes that I think define me or the people who make my shoes that are over worked and underpaid?

Jonah and every other Nike critic makes me wonder why the fuck do I buy Nike? I feel like I buy the shoes I do because I like the look and feel in them. They look and perform the best on the court. But how the hell does this give me the right to support Nike and its sweatshop labour. It doesn't. As I type this I am honestly considering what I should do. This is what culture jamming is for. It wants me to question what I am consuming.

One Web Day

The internet has opened my eyes to anything I could ever imagine. As an extension of my mind through my fingers the internet leads me through a labyrinth of thoughts and ideas. The internet has changed my life to the point that it is my life. I am able to navigate through my brain, exploring and learning about anything that comes to mind. The internet has left its webbing over almost every aspect of my life. The internet has been a friend to me, allowing me to say whatever I want to say (or type whatever I want to type), and it will listen to me and provide me with answers (good or bad). If I want to know what the price of Nike Hyperdunks are at Finish Line, my friend will give me an answer. If I want to know if Jennifer Aniston has had cosmetic surgery, my friend will give me an answer. This friend is awesome, and hardly ever complains! It doesn't get jealous, it doesn't cry, it barely asks anything of me, it just wants me to give it some attention, that's all.

The internet also provides a communication grounds for any kind of topic, for anyone. I am not the only one caught in the web, millions of others are able search and post their own thoughts for others to find. No longer do I have to meet a person to hear (rather see) what they have to say. No longer do I have to wait for their thoughts to be articulated and organized enough to be published. In an instant I can convey to others my feelings, and vice versa. In only about three decades the internet has complied the works of anything imaginable in an easily accessible form.

Although this ICT acts sort've like a friend it is largely responsible for desensitizing the feelings of real life. It does not care for us at all, and cannot replace the real feelings you get from engaging your senses in something REAL.