More than two dozen men and women called Denver's
NikeTown on Thursday "objecting" to the company's ads that
ran in the city's two daily newspapers, according to Penny
Parker of the DENVER POST, who writes that the Post also
"received several dozen calls and e-mails, also from both
genders, decrying the ad." The ad shows a woman in a
delivery room with her feet propped up in stirrups.
Squatting across the room is her "husband" wearing a
catcher's mitt. The ad copy at the bottom of the page
reads, "For all of Denver's athletes Niketown is here."
Nike Corporate Communications Specialist Claudine Leith: "We
have gotten a lot of calls. It was never our intent to
offend anybody or make anybody upset with us." The ad is
part of a three-part series from Goodby Silverstein &
Partners, S.F. Leith: "We knew people would be shocked, but
we don't regret any of our advertising we do. It was a way
to have fun with the advertising around the opening and
bring sports and everyday situations together." Some Denver
ad execs questioned the ads. Andy Mallen, VP/Account
Services at McClain Finlon Advertising: "I'm missing the
connection between sport and birth. Is the birth of a
Niketown store a momentous occasion?" (DENVER POST, 7/30).
