What Is Behind the Curtain: Nike

Carole Stabile’s essay brings to light the truth behind Nike’s social responsibility and hidden sweatshops of production. Stabile explains how corporations make sure to keep a perfect public image and how we as citizens and humans of this world should “concentrate on making visible those practices and realities that are routinely kept out of sight [from the public eye]” (202). Stabile first introduces the “sneaker wars” Nike and Reebok were fighting over the market and featuring million-dollar advertisement’s involving NBA players to target their consumers. Eventually, inner-city violence was connected to sneakers “In March, 1992, a fifteen-year-old in Philadelphia reportedly was killed during the theft of his Air Jordans; in April 1992, South Central L.A. erupted, with looting and brand name sneakers again splashed across pages and screens; and in July 1992, KP Original Sporting Goods in Harlem was robbed” (197). Nike quickly ran a bunch of antiracist ads with Spike Lee and donated along with Michael Jordan $200,000 to Chicago Public Schools; Nike also started the PLAY (Participate in the Lives of American’s Youth) (198). Nike did this to show that they were not the problem of this violence but rather the solution, keeping their name in good light and publicizing that they are out in this world to better society, yet drastically hiding the reality of their inhuman production factories. Even though Nike initially started off attracting a white male consumer because fitness and leisure time was more available for them, now, Nike “most widespread publicity is through basketball” (200), primarily attracting the African American population and “urban market” to say that whites can still purchase Nike too. Nike uses all these positive images of these grand athletes to show them that the “American Dream” is within grasp, even though the clear reality is that not everyone will go professional just by wearing Nike. Most of the athletes would not preferably where Nike over another brand but rather do so because they are bought out by million dollar contracts to represent their brand and wear their sneakers. Nike ads most often always come in a positive light. Take for example their ad attempting to show the empowerment of women “If you let me play sports” (201), but what we do not realize as consumers reading or watching these ads is what is hidden behind the curtain. A lot is hidden that we as consumers do not know. “Vietnamese women who make Nike shoes, working 12 –hour a day for a wage of between $2.10 and $2.40 a day, are kept of the screen” (201). Why? We all know the answer to that one, it would belittle Nike’s status and all the money they have put in to advertisements to portray themselves in a positive light. How can Nike pay million dollar contracts to already million dollar athletes to wear their shoes and only $2.10 a day to women working so hard to make their product? What if Nike's Just Do It advertisements were portrayed like in the video below? Now do you want to purchase Nike shoes or sportswear? The unfortunate reality is advertisements such as these would kill Nike’s business. Advertising and corporate propaganda always show us and tell us what WE want to see and what WE want to hear. The truth of the matter is that not only does Nike do this, many other corporations out in this world today use sweatshops for cheaper labor. The question is when will this all end and will advertisements ever truly expose reality? In the end, companies are all out their in this world competing to make maximum profit and rise to the top, sometimes though this comes at the expense of others well-being and at the expense of hiding reality to the world.