Thirty women -- all "high-profile thinkers, activists
and entertainers," including Gloria Steinem, Isabel Allende,
Erica Jong, Ellen DeGeneres, Bonnie Raitt, the Indigo Girls,
Shirley MacLaine and National Coalition Against Domestic
Violence Exec Dir Rita Smith -- have "written an open letter
asking" Nike Chair & CEO Phil Knight to apologize for the ad
showing a masked, chainsaw-wielding man chasing U.S. runner
Suzy Favor Hamilton, according to Andy Dworkin of the
Portland OREGONIAN. The letter, which was made public
Tuesday, expresses "revulsion" over the ad, calls it
"insulting to women, and horribly disrespectful to the many
who have suffered and died in such violent ways as this
commercial portrays," and says that it "reduces the issue of
violence against women to 'a pitch for corporate sales.'"
The letter also asks Nike "to refrain from using images of
violence against women in the future" and to apologize to
the "women and girls of America for such reckless use of
images of violence perpetrated against us." While Nike
Senior Manager of Communications Scott Reames "did not
apologize for the content of the commercial, which he said
is pro-woman," he did say that the company "apologizes to
people who were offended by the ad." Reames added that Nike
"erred by showing" the ad during the Olympics, which has
"broad, family appeal." Reames: "It's too intense for a
younger audience. In hindsight, we definitely should have
asked NBC to run it later" (Portland OREGONIAN, 10/12).
NIKE'S MAPQUEST: ADWEEK's Heidi Jacobs reports that
Nike is distributing a map, which is "actually an ad piece
targeting" runners, in N.Y. stores, gyms, at group runs and
in Time Out New York and Runner's World. The map marks
bathrooms throughout the city that runners can use and
reads, "Because every now and then you have to go to the
bathroom during a run." Wieden & Kennedy Management
Supervisor Bobby Hershfield: "Nike is always challenging us
to find new ways to reach athletes" (ADWEEK, 10/9 issue).
