If advertising is dead, how did a print ad from Nike make global news?

If advertising is dead, how did a print ad from Nike make global news? Why did the company’s stock price fall and then rise again? Why did Nike’s online sales increase by 31 percent?

There are powerful and important lessons to be learnt from Nike’s association with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Not least because Kaepernick is a divisive figure. However, when people were burning Nike’s products, the brand dug in, stood its ground, and refused to budge. The company even produced a self-help guide for those wishing to burn its products safely.

In this edition of Inside AB, Jeremy Lawrence and Bernd Debusmann argue that we shouldn’t be discussing whether advertising works or not, or whether brands should make a stand for causes they believe in. It’s more about how we should be discussing how, as a region, we can create such standout work. How we can push the boundaries further so that more of our campaigns are talked about globally and shape our culture on an increasingly positive basis.