Now that Tiger Woods has come out of sex rehab hibernation — if only momentarily — to beg for a bit of forgiveness from the public that once loved him, the question still remains: Will he ever get close to regaining his status as the poster boy for poster boys? [More]
Tiger Woods' Off-Road Adventure Cost Shareholders $12B
By December 30, 2009
A new study says that Tiger Woods spectacular fall from grace has cost shareholders of the firms that used him as a spokesperson to lose $12 billion in value. [More]
Advertiser Stuck With Ironic Tiger Woods Ads Fires Him
By December 14, 2009
Remember this ad? It was in the Wall Street Journal the day after Tiger Woods crashed his car and unleashed a torrent of trashy mistresses on an unsuspecting nation? Yeah, it was for Accenture. Now that company has decided that Tiger Woods is bad for its reputation. [More]
Best Buy, Nike Make List Of 99 Top Ethical Companies. Wait, What?
By April 13, 2009
A business ethics institute named Ethisphere has released its annual list of the 99 “World’s Most Ethical Companies.” We have to take exception to some of their choices.
What Hell Must You Go Through To Return A Defective Running Shoe?
By November 13, 2008
Neal Templin at the Wall Street Journal had a defective running shoe. Within 4 months of buying the shoes, an eyelet failed, so he took the defective shoes back to the store. This is where his tragic tale of rejection begins.
Nike Customers Angry After Woman With Fastest Time Doesn't "Win" Marathon
By October 24, 2008
There’s a bit of a backlash brewing against Nike after the woman with the fastest time in the Nike Women’s Marathon wasn’t declared “the winner” because she wasn’t among the elite group of marathon runners who start separately from the rest of the pack.
$25 Million Counterfeit Goods Ring Busted In NY-NJ
By April 17, 2008
If you live in the NYC area, one thing you probably won’t be spending your stimulus check on now is a pair of shiny new fake Nikes—or ersatz Louis Vuittons, packs of imitation Duracell batteries, or faux-Timberland boots.
Knockoff Products Smuggled Into The U.S. Labeled "Refrigerated Noodles"
By December 6, 2007
Federal agents have announced that they’ve busted a smuggling ring that brought hundreds of millions of dollars worth of knockoff products into the US, says the NYT.
By December 6, 2007
First there was jeans and shirts. Now Nike is reissuing old sneakers “already-vintaged.” Will they fall apart in a few months, just like the real thing? [Nice Kicks via Don't Believe The Hypebeast]
The Sports Authority And Nike Pulling Michael Vick Merchandise?
By July 27, 2007
Reader J tells us that The Sports Authority and Nike are pulling all their Michael Vick related merchandise, due to Vick’s recent indictment for running a dog fighting kennel. The charges are pretty gruesome. The indictment includes stories of dogs being put to death by electrocution for not passing “tests” to see if they were mean enough fighters, etc. Vick faces up to 6 years in prison if convicted.
America's Least Wanted: Top 10 TV Product Placement Offenders
By March 26, 2007
Product placement is annoying. You can’t TiVo through it, it’s distracting, and you can’t get rid of it. Neilsen has compiled a list of the top 10 shows with the most product placement advertising as well as the top 10 offending advertisers. Quite unsurprisingly, FOX’s American Idol comes in at the top spot with 4,086 occurrences of product placement. Yuck.
Video of iPod Nike Shoe in Action
By June 2, 2006
Here’s an ad explaining how the crazy hooking up an iPod nano to your Nike running shoe works. Pretty f’n cool. It seems like your nano will speak to you and tell you how far you’ve run, how far you have to go, how long you ran, etc. You can then redock your nano and track all your progress on the computer.
The News: Arrogant, Unethical, and Fabulous Edition
By May 24, 2006
• Nah nah nah, kids are circumventing anti-Myspace filters by setting up their own proxy servers from home and accessing them at school.
Nike Air Jordans as Shoe Sculpture Porn
By March 15, 2006
Nike Air Jordans repurposed by artists Brian Jungen into sculptures, pointed to us by ObsessiveConsumption. Some of these resemble dinosaur skulls. Some of them are analogues for the route it takes to get a human on telephone customer service.
Nike and Eric Cantona Bonito Help Us Love Ads and Soccer Again
By February 17, 2006
We hate ads but we dare you to hate this Nike soccer campaign.
Hopeless Petitions: Back to the Future Nikes
By December 22, 2005
We know the chances of this actually working are slim-to-none, but as burgeoning sneaker junky, we’ve got to mention it. Someone has created an online petition requesting that Nike create the future high-tops worn by Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future II. They look strangely hip these days, and it’s actually possible to affordably recreate the glowing Nike logo from the movie. (The powered lacing might be a little bit more difficult, but it’s probably not unpossible, either.)
