June 28, 2005
The 'Threat' Is Over
Nike says "oops," according to Pitchfork Media. The shoe giant has apologized for blatantly ripping off imagery from the cover of hardcore band Minor Threat’s 1981 self-titled album.
Last week, it was reported that Nike Skateboarding was using a design eerily similar to the Minor Threat album to promote its "Major Threat" 2005 East Coast skateboarding tour. D.C.'s own Dischord Records was pissed and said as much, but it wasn’t until yesterday that Nike expressed regret in a letter on its website:
To set the record straight, Nike Skateboarding's 'Major Threat' Tour poster was designed, executed and promoted by skateboarders, for skateboarders. All of the Nike employees responsible for the creation of the tour flyer are fans of both Minor Threat and Dischord records and have nothing but respect for both. … Because of the album's strong imagery, and because our East Coast tour ends in Washington DC, we felt it was a perfect fit. This was a poor judgment call and should not have been executed without consulting Minor Threat and Dischord Records.
The letter goes on to say the company will do whatever it can to get rid of the marketing materials. Looks like some enterprising young skateboarders will be making money on eBay.
>> A related Photoshop contest via Pygmalion in a Blanket.
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This makes me very sad. I was raised on dischord, mostly on Minor Threat and Fugazi. This is just blatant disrespect. Ian MacKaye is a decent human being who works his ass off to run his own label and promote/manage his own bands. This really must have been a kick in the throat.
Check out my podcast interview with Ian
I love the HarDCore, but it's turned DC into this place where you have to either be on Dischord, or have that sound. I know it's not Ian's fault, but still, I'm glad someone's started giving Dischord some shit.
"...still, I'm glad someone's starting giving Dischord some shit."
That's the stupidest thing I've ever read. Dischord is a great label which deserves only respect. Yes, many of their bands do have a certain DC sound, but they have the right to choose the bands they like and want to sign. And believe it or not, there are popular D.C. bands which don't have the harDCore sound and aren't on Dischord either.
Yeah, that was pretty stupid. Even if you're not a huge Dischord fan -0- Nike attacked a genuine home-grown phenomenon, and its "oops" letter is highly suspect -- a company famously paranoid about its own brand blatantly stole someone elses. You know that teams of lawyers looked over this ad campaign, just like any other public document Nike releases, and they decided they could win a fight.
Even the so-called apology devotes most of its text to talking about what cool Dischord fans Nike people are. As ad people say, "there's no such thing as bad publicity." This was all orchestrated. And since "skate punks" generally aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, it will probably work.