Nike courts controversy, publicity with drug-themed skater shirts ...

An Oregon anti-drug group has joined the mayor of Boston in calling out Nike for selling T-shirts stamped with "Dope" and "Get High."

"The message is a broad wink at drug use," said Tom Parker, communications manager for the Oregon Partnership, a nonprofit group that fights substance abuse. "Somebody was thinking, 'We want to be edgy and be in with what the kids are doing,' and they just stepped over the line."

The outcry is reminiscent of public response to other Nike advertising campaigns in the past 20 years -- controversies that ultimately led to more publicity for the company.

The T-shirts are part of the Nike 6.0 campaign launched earlier this month on behalf of the tiny segment of the Washington County-based company's business devoted to skateboarders, snowboarders, skiers, surfers and BMX bikers.

One T-shirt depicts a fallen prescription medicine bottle with the word, "DOPE." Instead of pills, however, the oval shapes of skateboards and snowboards appear to be tumbling out. Dope is an approving term in the skateboarding realm.

The T-shirt is one of three that drew the ire of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino after he saw them displayed in the windows of a Niketown store in his city.

"What we don't need is a major corporation like Nike, which tries to appeal to the younger generation, out there giving credence to the drug issue," he told The Boston Herald newspaper.

Menino called for the store to remove the window display. The mayor, the newspaper noted, wears Reebok sneakers, the Adidas-owned subsidiary based just outside of Boston.

Another T-shirt features "GET HIGH" above a Swoosh symbol and a third uses an expletive to dismiss the effects of gravity.

"These T-shirts are part of an action sports campaign, featuring marquee athletes using commonly used and accepted expressions for performance at the highest level of their sport, be it surfing, skateboarding or BMX," Nike spokeswoman Erin Dobson said in a written statement. "Nike does not condone the use of banned or illegal substances."

Regarding the pill bottle, Dobson added, "This is about sport and being authentic to action sports. The graphic shows skateboards and surfboards. There is no better adrenalin rush than catching a wave or landing a trick."

The T-shirts are being sold at Nike stores globally and the Nike 6.0 website.

"The shirts are part of the larger campaign and will remain on sale through the duration of that campaign," Dobson said.

Parker, of the Oregon Partnership, commended the downtown Portland Niketown store for not displaying the shirts in a storefront window.

But still, he said, the shirts should not be sold at all.

"Prescription drug abuse is a huge problem in this country," ranking just behind alcohol for substance abuse, Parker said. "It's getting out of hand -- people using it for recreational purposes and using for pain medications."

Oregon Partnership emailed a news release condemning the ads to about 1,500 people, including U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The email includes the corporate mailing address and web address for Nike and encourages recipients to send a message "expressing your objections."

Parker speculated that the T-shirts are the product of a marketing brain-storming session --and that the slogans should have been nixed at the meeting's conclusion.

"One would think (Nike) executives concerned about this would see it beyond a marketing standpoint," Parker said. "I don't think they're this cynical that they think they're going to benefit from negative publicity. I just think they're a much better company."

--Allan Brettman

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/06/nike_courts_controversy_public.html

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