Someone in the Nike public relations department had to have seen all of the backlash the company was getting for not promoting Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark one time during the 2024 WNBA season.
That backlash intensified after Clark was named WNBA Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press and reached a fever pitch right before the league named Clark the official Rookie of the Year winner days later.
It didn’t take long after the WNBA’s announcement for Nike to put up a banner of Gainbridge Fieldhouse of Clark with the caption “Is there a rookie record for rookie records?”
The move was likely done to earn some good will with Fever fans who were regularly posting on social media their annoyance with the way the company wasn’t marketing one of its biggest stars, but Nike’s actions seemingly backfired as social media users ripped the company for its poorly timed decision.
“@Nikebasketball is fumbling this. @adidasHoops was able to celebrate CC22’s Rookie of the year before them!” @DonPao6 said.
“Nike fumbling almost as hard as the WNBA,” @SolDaveyJones wrote.
“Too little too late. Where is her shoe and merch? Come on @nike get with it,” @parodylibs stated.
“And yet there’s NO PRODUCT to purchase from them,” @mreeset remarked.
“Nike marketing stealing from X, I know I saw a comment that got a lot of traction that literally said ‘She set the record for records’” @rumblebzz commented.
“Where’s all of the NIKE / @CaitlinClark22 merchandise that millions of people have been asking and waiting for? Why has Nike not highlighted Caitlin all season (who IS the goat…GREATEST OF ALL TIME IN @WNBA!”@LegacyLeaders11 stated.
“No commercial or shoes,” @hgalecki33 quipped.
“Still waiting on the shoes, Nike!” @manleyguy1 said.
One can’t help but notice that the Clark banner appeared days after the Associated Press reported Nike’s quarterly sales numbers and profits took a significant hit.
The multi-billion-dollar company signed Clark to a massive eight-year, $28 million deal over the summer in order to appeal more to female consumers, but the company hasn’t released any Clark-themed apparel or shoes, which isn’t helping dig Nike out of the financial hole it’s created for itself.
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