This ad is about a year old but it drums up a lot of memories for me. When Consolidated first came out with the Don't Do It campaign in the late 90's Nike was making a push for skateboarding. Consolidated, like many other skate companies weren't having it. Ultimately Nike failed and nestled back into the ball sports where they belong. Fast forward 10 years. Nike has made another huge push not only into skateboarding, but snowboarding as well. This time they took a different course. Landing huge names from the skate and snow realm as well as changing up their entire marketing to make it feel like they are in it for the right reasons this time. Maybe they are. I'm not in on the meetings where they discuss their purpose. I know that every sport (if you want to call skating and snowboarding that) needs new companies and corporations with loads of money to back them if they want to continue to fight for mainstream attention. My problem is that companies like Nike have ushered in an entire demographic of kids that usually don't give two shits about skating and snowboarding or where it all started. They're into it because it's the cool thing to do right now. I feel at liberty to speak on this because of the amount of time I spend on the mountain and at the skateparks. The upside to this newfound popularity is that most kids will A) suck at it and give up, or B) move onto the next new trend once the media/their peer group tells them that something else is cooler. See razor scooters for an example. I don't have a personal vendetta against Nike, Totino's, Mountain Dew, or any other company making their presence known. I have plenty of Nike stuff, I use it for working out, I've eaten my share of Totino's, but I don't personally care for Mountain Dew. I do however consume copious amounts of Red Bull as well as work for them part time, which some would argue falls under the same guise as the aforementioned companies. The bottom line is that I'm personally not into the Olympics, Dew Tour, or most other super mega contests. If you're going to get into something do it for the right reasons and respect the people that have been doing it for years before you.
Haha... Thank you sir! I would like to point out that this is why I don't get into the super bowl. I'm not into football and I'm not going to change that once a year when it's hip to be a fan. People need to do what makes them happy, what makes them smile, and not worry about being cool or fitting in. Easier said than done, I know, but I like to think that I've lived by that motto pretty well. I do, and have done, many things when they weren't all that cool. Does that make me cooler than other people? Well maybe, but probably not. I do however think it means I have more integrity than others.
ReplyDeleteDo the things that make you happy and allow you to look at yourself in the mirror everyday!