Nike and Colin Kaepernick:

How a Controversial Advertising Campaign Boosted Sales and Challenged Brand Image

In 2018, Nike launched its “Dream Crazy” advertising campaign, adding to recent controversy in the United States surrounding player’s protests of racial injustice in the National Football League. In this essay, I analyze the campaign by placing it within the social and cultural context in which it was launched, as well as examine how it was deployed, its purpose, audience and effectiveness.