I know that I join the entire Duke community in expressing my gratitude to Nike for their ad on the last page of the Oct. 28 issue of The Chronicle. What a sincere and selfless gesture on their part! I had previously written off the company as immoral and unethical exploiters of the child laborers toiling away in sweatshops, but their full-page "statement" really turned my thinking around.
They offer to us, the consumers, the opportunity to "criticize them more accurately...," both through a public web site detailing information about the company's labor practices-information, that, by the way, has been verified by independent, outside auditors and through the tantalizing promise that the company is putting the "finishing touches" on a program whereby we'll be able to actually visit one of their factories, thus allowing us to know, for certain, that Nike has its priorities straight.
This kind of makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it? Like you're being cradled in the loving arms of a good, honest parent. In fact, I don't remember feeling so cared for since Philip Morris unveiled its web site, where we found out that cigarettes are bad for you after all. Aw, shucks. But the Philip Morris Family of Companies cares enough about you and me to make that information available, in spite of how it might affect their public image. In fact, you can bet it never once occurred to them, or to Nike, that such an selfless effort could actually work as a clever marketing ploy. No, these big businesses really, really care about us; Nike puts it best when they finish their ad with a bit of tough-love common-sense: "All we want is for you to be informed." I, for one, am basking in the radiant glow of their nurturing love.
Marc Faris
Graduate student,
Department of Music
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