Dear Nike. What's Wrong With This Picture?

El Keniano wrote:

And why do you keep subjecting us to this year after year?

https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/ee4c7f50-0e71-4ae1-afac-deddf14eda92.jpg?v=-25134848

The winning athlete almost allowed his hip number to cover up the Nike logo on his shorts. Thank you for this notification, he will be promptly reprimanded. We must protect the integrity of the Nike Brand Space at all costs.

I just watched this and the guy is penalized for a false start yet the replay shows it wasn't one at all. I've never seen a sprint where a false start penalty means you have to move your blocks back 1 meter from your competitors. I like the idea!

https://youtu.be/1VXuQeUHWDA?t=403

Nike Marketing Team wrote:

El Keniano wrote:

And why do you keep subjecting us to this year after year?

https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/ee4c7f50-0e71-4ae1-afac-deddf14eda92.jpg?v=-25134848

The winning athlete almost allowed his hip number to cover up the Nike logo on his shorts. Thank you for this notification, he will be promptly reprimanded. We must protect the integrity of the Nike Brand Space at all costs.

Bahahahahahahaha

I think all this shows is that the primary goal of a lot of track and field sponsorship is brand recognition/exposure. It's not about the individual athletes. As long as Nike gets a ton of athletes in high profile races, I don't think they care if people know who the individuals are. Outside of Bolt, there are almost no track athletes with world-wide name recognition.

Nike actually does have multiple uniform colors for elites. You see many wearing the light blue/pink ones but if you watch Diamond League you will also see orange/yellow (I think these are athletes from the Rosa group) and yellow/white as well as the Olympic champions wearing their purple/pink singlets.

In addition, Oregon Project, Oregon Track Club, and Bowerman AC all have unique styles and colors of Nike singlets.

Nike actually has the most variety. Puma copied Nike style and colors this year, Adidas has everyone in blue with striped shorts, and Brooks, NB, and Hoka also have only one style.

Having a single style makes the brand/sponsor easily identifiable. Same with having the shoe lineup be a single colorway.

Why mess with a winning concept?

What do YOU think when you see 8/10 in the same singlet?

You think Nike!

Some of YOU even had to tell the rest of us, doing their job for them.

YOU don't even have to identify a single athlete by name or known affiliation with Nike, it's the approx 8/10 dominance that identifies them as Nike.

That's how successful marketing works.

Whether we like it or not is beside the point, we see it, we associate it with Nike, we think and/or mention the brand name, again and again and again.

Also, this blocks out thinking/talking about the other brands possibly being in those races. I don't particularly like Nike, but even I have to give them this is brand dominance in a field.

Anonhummus wrote:

I just watched this and the guy is penalized for a false start yet the replay shows it wasn't one at all. I've never seen a sprint where a false start penalty means you have to move your blocks back 1 meter from your competitors. I like the idea!

https://youtu.be/1VXuQeUHWDA?t=403

What the heck was this? The start was staggered yet there was no turn. Did they have their blocks setup like that based on some criteria?

Cookie cutter world, no more individualism.....cant tell these guys apart from a distance......

Handicap racing.

In horse racing they do it by adding weight.

In golf you my get to subtract strokes based on your handicap.

The fastest guy has to start back a little.

Are you saying that all Africans look the same, Broken Arrow?

It's a handicap race. Apparently they used to do this at county fairs in the US in the early 20th century.

There is nothing wrong with this photo. I'm not a fan of the kit, but that doesn't make Nike wrong for sponsoring a ton of athletes that happen to be really good.

RichE wrote:

It's a handicap race. Apparently they used to do this at county fairs in the US in the early 20th century.

Early 20th century?! Did you never do this as a kid? I always had to give the other kids a few seconds' head start in playground races, I would imagine it's still common street race practice.

It's stupid and bad for the sport for everyone to wear the same kit, but as others have pointed out, Nike is not the only one to do this.

Personally, when I'm watching a race, I appreciate being to be able to pick out BTC, NOP, OTC, or other club kits and the runners in college uniforms. I like being able to spot the so-bad-it's-good Hansons kit. The Nike singlet variations for past medal winners from a couple of years ago was also good.

You would think the manufacturers would figure this out - no one wants to be a cookie cutter runner and it's the distinctive kits that are cool. So come up with more variation already! That's how to make people think you make cool gear.

I also think the blotchy spattered look Nike has this year is just ugly and the NOP variation that Centro was wearing is even uglier.

You could have the top ten Kenyans in any running event (and top ten Ethiopians as well) walk down the street of any US city and not one would be recognized by anyone. Though, a white cop may ID the them as a Black Lives Matter group and open fire on them.

sdvbjvh wrote:

They should all wear different colors like these guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VXuQeUHWDA

what is this? Australian Rules Track?

El Keniano wrote:

And why do you keep subjecting us to this year after year?

https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/ee4c7f50-0e71-4ae1-afac-deddf14eda92.jpg?v=-25134848

Absolutely agree.

parker and longbaugh wrote:

https://twitter.com/gordonmack/status/860535087250759680

Manangoi - Gregson - Cheruiyot

Barakus Obama wrote:

El Keniano wrote:

And why do you keep subjecting us to this year after year?

https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/ee4c7f50-0e71-4ae1-afac-deddf14eda92.jpg?v=-25134848

Absolutely agree.

My thought was that Dibaba saw her reflection towards the end of the London Marathon and it made her sick. They are hideous.