How about this for a new Nike slogan: Just drop it! And why? Because being dropped is apparently what’s going to happen to a Nike commercial that’s been airing on NBC during the Sydney, Australia, Olympics broadcast.
Produced by the ad agency Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., the commercial, titled “Horror,” was originally intended as a spoof of horror flicks. But, as NBC has come to realize, some TV viewers are not finding the ad funny.
After receiving some 2,000 complaints from viewers objecting to the airing of the spot, the Peacock network has decided to pull the ad from its rotation.
“We were fully prepared to react quickly,” a spokesman from the network told Reuters.
The ad spot in contention features a chainsaw-wielding man in face mask (a la “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) chasing American track star Suzy Hamilton through a deep forest, with the runner outgunning the out-of-shape suicidal maniac in a comical denouement.
“We are disappointed that NBC has chosen to take our ad off the air,” said Mike Wilskey, vice president of Nike U.S. Marketing, in a press release today. “However, this ad will continue to run in other media. Our rule has always been to respect the intelligence of our consumer. … We know they get the joke.”
