Nike CEO Mark Parker is proud about the company’s controversial advertisement with former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Parker said the company’s recent “Just Do It” campaign with Kaepernick has resulted in “record engagement with the brand.”
“We feel very good and are very proud of the work we’ve been doing,” Parker said on Nike’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday. “We know it’s resonating quite strongly with consumers here in North America and around the world.”
"It's driving a real uptick in traffic and engagement both socially and comercially. We've seen record engagement with the brand as part of the campaign" Nike CEO Mark Parker on @Kaepernick7 Just Do It campaign response $nke
— Sara Eisen (@SaraEisen) September 25, 2018
Nike announced on the call that its revenue over the last three months, a period ending Aug. 31, was up 9 percent to $9.9 billion. The final day of the quarter was several days before the first Kaepernick advertisement ads appeared shortly before the NFL season began.
Executives for the company were congratulating Parker for having the courage to run the advertisement.
Beth Comstock, Nike board member, says Colin Kapernick ad decision was discussed at the board level… commends CEO and Chairman Mark Parker for knowing its consumer $nke
— Sara Eisen (@SaraEisen) September 18, 2018
Nike’s stock has soared by 6.25 percent since the Kaepernick campaign began, adding an estimated $6.38 billion to its value.
The edgy decision to bank on Kaepernick has been a wise decision, sports business consultant Allen Adamson told CNBC.
