The Nike/Kaepernick controversy will affect LeBron James and L.A.!

Nike recently caused a stir by using Colin Kaepernick in an ad campaign and it will have a trickle-down effect on LeBron James.

LeBron James…I have an unofficial ad for you this upcoming NBA season…

Just Do It…NEXT!

It’s been 24 hours and now everyone has probably seen it. If not they’ve definitely heard about it. Nike put out an ad that had so much controversy that it made Charles Barkley’s ad “I am not a role model” seem like… “Please buy my shoe…it’s cool! PULLEEEZE!”

For the fans that might be out of the loop, Nike made former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, the face of the 30th-anniversary celebration of the famous “Just Do it” campaign. It’s a campaign with so much success that it bankrolled so much money into the company like running water. I mean, Nike could print its own money at this point.

The ad goes a little something like this…Picture it…

Black and White, close up image of Kaepernick’s face in a full-blown Afro and beard…

With the caption across his face…”Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Short, quick and straight to the point. Vintage Nike. This was done so sweet it had to be a plan. They announced it on Labor Day! Just before the NFL season starts. The ad was praised from fellow Nike athletes like Serena Williams and LeBron James.

Cue the record scratch effect…LEBRON JAMES!

Yes, Lake Show Lifers, Nike’s number one active money machine (The number one overall has been retired for years…Michael Jordan.) LeBron James. The one with the lifetime one billion (Yes that’s with a “B”) dollar contract. The one whose goal is to be the first active billionaire in NBA history.

Now that he’s in a high profile market like Los Angeles (market number two), with business ventures rolling in, he’s well on his way. LeBron James is the one athlete NOT named Colin Kaepernick that President Donald Trump has inserted himself into the business of sports.

Let’s say that last part again…the business of sports.

Nike did not make it’s money by accident. Nike has been doing this for years. The apparel company has a long history of working with black athletes which at one time was controversial. The Kaepernick campaign has already created $43 million in media exposure already. Remember that old phrase “All publicity is good publicity?”

Miss Jemele Hill, a now former journalist at ESPN who got in hot water speaking out against Donald Trump, spelled this out in a couple of tweets…

Facts from one of my heroes…Thank you Miss Hill.

With all that being said, it leads to the question…What does this have to do with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers?

Not much right now. But you wait until say around October 16, 2018. Opening night of the NBA.

This is nothing but a litmus test for Nike. The preliminary rounds. Colin Kaepernick is a long shot to get back in the NFL…but think about it, if the exposure for the brand is successful for an athlete that hasn’t played in over a year, how much global exposure do you think Nike is going to can get with LeBron James?

If this ad works (and it will in the long term…more on this later) you don’t think that Nike will build an ad campaign in say about six weeks that will blow Adidas out the water?

More from Lake Show Life

• Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
• Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
• Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
• Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
• Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated

Trivia question? We all know that LeBron James has a contract with Nike, but who sponsors the NBA jerseys this year? Yep, Nike. Who makes all the NFL uniforms and their adult wear? Uh huh, Nike.

Sure there was some backlash from the ad announcement. #BoycottNike and #JustBurnit trended on Twitter and according to Bloomberg, shares slipped 3.9 percent to $79 dollars a share which turned out to be the largest drop during an ongoing Wall Street day. How deep was this drop? The apparel company had climbed 31 percent by the closing bell on Friday.

Nike’s check is going to clear and it will be huge, trust me. The NFL’s fan base has been divided and for quite some time now. The NBA has taken full advantage of that and has made great strides in catching up and eventually setting eyes on being the number one sport in America. Also, the NFL contracts are not guaranteed like the NBA players which can restrict players from speaking out.

LeBron James right now is the most powerful athlete in the world and is standing at the top of his game. He just signed a four-year deal worth $154 million dollars. Plus he has a cache of powerful friends in the NBA that will support him in speaking out on social issues. Couple with the NBA commissioner, Adam Silver giving the NBA players his approval and support on social issues, this is LeBron James’ time to shine.

Oh, by the way, any shine LeBron gets, Magic Johnson and Jeanie Buss are too good at business not to parlay that into the Buss family business that is the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lake Show Lifers, if you think the Colin Kaepernick’s ad was something, wait until you get a hold of the ads with LeBron James…

The ad shows a shift in the Nike strategy. The company is shifting their focus to the millennial population. This is smart foreshadowing considering that two-thirds of the consumers just happen to be under the age of 35 and an “ethnically diverse consumer base, according to NPD group courtesy of Bloomberg.

Let’s hear from an expert in such thing as this…here’s Howe Burch, the former head of U.S. marketing of Reebok…

"“Nike cares most about the category influencers and tastemakers — nearly all of whom will embrace their decision,…”They know they will lose some customers short term but not the kind of customers that really drive their business.”"

In layman’s terms, this should last til around basketball season. NBA! Basketball shoes being sold! That’s pretty much the point here.

They’ve already practiced a great zinger ad with Serena Williams. Remember the body suit that was supposed to help her with blood clots that the French Open banned?

Nike tweets…

Oh by the way…as of this writing, Serena Williams is in the semifinals of the U.S. Open…

Nike…WINNING!

Sure this groundswell of attention got a remark from the President calling the ad “A terrible message”.

But this is not going to stop. During New York fashion week in February 2017, the biggest message was anti-Trumpism.

Guess what’s going down THIS YEAR…

I wonder what LeBron James will have to say about the ad in New York?

Nike and LeBron James are well versed in combining ads and social issues. Anyone remember the commercial including Serena Williams and other Nike athletes two weeks after the Trump inauguration? This is a huge chess match here folks. This ain’t checkers.

This firestorm will be over by the NBA season. Why? Nike is holding all the cards here. They have LeBron James who has already stated on numerous occasions that he will continue to speak out on social issues, which Nike has no problems hitching its company wagon to…

Why?

Because Nike is after the younger, socially conscious consumer aka the millennials.

In this age group, if you asked them who is the greatest player of all time, the majority of them will say…

Ding! Ding! Ding! LeBron James. LeBron James will lead Nike to the promised land into the millennial consumer market. Which he definitely will…

But if he doesn’t and all else fails…

Do you really think that anybody is going to stop buying Air Jordans?… Stop it.