On Nike’s New Standard for Homophobic Advertising
22Jul08
In which The Gay Recluse throws out his running shoes and says wtf.
According to our Harlem correspondent Neskers, the below ad is plastered all over phone booths in his neighborhood:
We’d like to say fuck you, Nike, and all the advertising geniuses who created this piece of shit. Srsly, unbelievable. Nike should be forced to give no less than $1 billion to AIDS awareness, HIV prevention, and fighting homophobia, particularly in those neighborhoods (like Harlem) where it’s most needed.
[Update: The ads have been pulled by Nike. Chalk one up for The Gay Recluse.]
[Update: If you’re a d-bag who doesn’t think this is homophobic, please read the comments before leaving your own; chances are some other d-bag has you covered.]
Filed under: Capitalism, Drivel, Language, The Gay Recluse | 80 Comments
Tags: Ads, Downlow, Homophobia, Nike
The Gay Recluse 
You’ve got to be kidding me. This ad doesn’t say that the position, while naked and with two men, “ain’t right.” C’mon! Get off your sensitive high horse and instead of buying Nike, buy yourself a sense of humor. Jumping mid-air and slamming your crotch up against a standing man on the basketball court? Yeah, that ain’t right.
Thanks for the comment, Alexander, but I have to seriously disagree…there’s no question that the ad plays off the (bigoted) idea that a man’s face in another guy’s crotch — which 98 percent of the time is an image associated with gay sex and one percent of the time with b-ball — is “not right.” Which ha ha is not funny as long as guys are getting the shit kicked out of them (or worse) for doing exactly that.
If you have reason to travel to the West 4th St. A/C/E/F/V/B/D subway station soon, there’s a whole series of these ads lining the long corridors on the south end of the station. They are all staged with very similar head-in-crotch, blatant sexual humiliation poses, with tag lines like, “Your mama won’t let you come home after this. What would she tell the neighbors?”
I’m on your side, Recluse. Luckily, I haven’t bought anything made by Nike in years.
Holy shit — thanks for proving the point, AKN…
…there’s a whole series of these ads lining the long corridors on the south end of the station….
Which is also quite interesting since at street level at that south end of the station is a popular basketball court that is packed every day. Wonder what THEY think….
Yeah…
No..Not homophobic.
Great campaign though…It’s got all the queens up in arms.
Thanks, Tex! You just totally won the asshole-of-the-day award!
Gay Recluse, I love you for your insightful analysis. I love you for telling it how it is, regardless of the flak you get from the haters and (even worse) the apologists. And I love you for giving an Asshole of the Day Award. Gay Recluse, your genitalia in my face? That’s all right!
I can see where some would think this is not homophobic because obviously no one wants to be hit by another person flying through the air in the head. However, there are plenty of ways to get hit in the head by another person ‘sports related.’ He’s not being kicked in the head which I think we would all consider ‘not right’ for example. No, he’s got the crotch in head which is obviously alluding to a sexual act. If the standing person was a woman the first thing you would think is ‘ooo she’s going to give him….’ you know what I mean. Hence that is the same thing we think here only with the lovely ‘catch phrase’ “that’s not right.”
It is homophobic and its trying to get away with not being homophobic by saying ‘look its like getting hurt playing sports.’ Well, maybe that’s how we’re supposed to think but its not how most people will. Most people will think ‘ew that’s really gay looking’ and the “that’s not right” thus is clearly anti-gay.
Thanks for the support, Stalker, and thanks to BeccaDu for spelling it out in such a clear-headed way.
Here’s the thing. If you play or watch much basketball you would know that these situations in these ads (in a basketball context, as opposed to, as Alexander puts it, “naked two men”) are about humiliation, physical domination, and yes, sexuality, but not homosexuality. Dunking in someone’s face while they are caught flat-footed on the ground is an expression of power and superior basketball skill–the fact that it has parallels in sex, gender roles, and homosexuality is clearly not lost on the ad company. But to simplify this message or image as “homophobic” is narrow-minded and does a great disservice to the game of basketball, much like those who who focus on the gay overtones of basketball players slapping each other on the ass. If you don’t like it, that’s why you don’t buy Nike (or play basketball).
Hey Andrew–thanks for the comment, which though delivered with admirable conviction resonates with a feeble-minded quality very similar to many other commenters unable to grasp the truth. Here’s the thing — ha ha — advertisements can be read in both literal and symbolic ways; if you stick to a purely literal interpretation, it’s possible to say that yes, nobody would like another person’s crotch shoved into his or her face, so it’s wrong, etc. But if you even step back one inch (and that’s a “metaphor”) from such an interpration, you might be able to appreciate that what Nike has done in this campaign is present an image of a man’s face in another man’s crotch, which — hello! — is a very homoerotic image under any circumstances, particularly the way they shot it. Then, in case you had any doubt, they added slogans to the adds — “that ain’t right,” “don’t let your momma know” etc — that play off the stereotypically homophobic (and yes, ghetto) reaction to what is unquestionably a homoerotic image. That’s why the ad is homophobic, end of story.
Thanks for the lesson on semiotics. I’m sorry that my previous comment left you thinking that I was trying to deny the fact that a man with his crotch in another man’s face is “symbolically” homoerotic. Moving past that observation of this ad, I tend to think that saying “homoerotic image + negative statement = homophobic ad, end of story,” though maybe you’ve stepped an inch back, doesn’t account for the fact that the obviously homoerotic image has other connotations too–ones of sport, competition, and hierarchy. Personally, I just don’t see the problem with using overtones of homosexuality (or gender, physical dominance, however you choose to view this image “metaphorically”) to display the idea of one man being better than another man at basketball. There’s obvious “symbolic” parallels between sex and sport (tell me you’ve never used the terms “top,” “bottom,” “dominant,” or “submit” to describe both things) and to think that this ad is primarily about homesexuality is missing the point. what would you have us do? refuse to allow any kind of sexual or homoerotic image to appear alongside any sort of scrutiny? and are you ready to make the argument that removing homoerotic images from advertising will help battle homophobia?
Ok, Andrew. Here’s the problem: Imagine you’re a 14-year old kid who happens to be a great athlete and also gay, so that you actually fantasize about having your face in some guy’s crotch or vice versa. And then you see ads like this and hear the talk on the street and you’re like: “how could I fucking possibly be gay when it’s so fucking wrong?” And then a few years pass and you pretend like you don’t want to have your face in some guy’s crotch (or vice versa) but you do it anyway because that’s how these things get played out, but you don’t do it in a spirit of “awesome, this M2M stuff is really cool,” but you do it in a holy-fucking-shit-why-can’t-I-stop-myself kind of way, which is understandable because your whole life you’ve been bombarded with negative, homophobic bullshit ads like this one from Nike. And then some more time passes and you start fucking around a little more (but you sure as hell don’t tell your momma, ha ha) and because you’ve grown up hating this part of yourself, you don’t even respect yourself or the guys your with enough to use a condom and then you get HIV and AIDS and you die the end. (Obviously I’m exaggerating, but I don’t think it’s an accident that HIV rates have skyrocketed in the most notoriouisly homophobic neighborhoods where not coincindentally these ads are being pushed. And oh yeah, this is where I live so I know about this firsthand, which reminds me: where do you live?) So yeah, I’m thinking very much that not running these stupid fucking ads will help fight homophobia; it’s not a question of allowing or disallowing, but one of consideration and respect. Nike likes to present itself as relatively progressive: this ad campaign is anything but.
Gays who are not sports fanatics will never get this ad. In basketball, or pretty much any sport, the ultimate domination of another guy is to make him “your bitch”. If you can down another player by figuratively making him suck your meat or take an ass facial, then you are crushing him. It’s not homophobic at all. When you score on another dude and yell “In your face faggot!” it has nothing to do with homosexuality than calling someone a “girly fuckface queer”. Sports are about masculinity, and the most unmasculine thing another guy can do is have his face in your groin or caught looking at your ass. That is the nature of sports, not homophobia. Lighten up you queens.
I gotta go with you on this one, I thought about what the ad would say if the guy landing on the other guy had used his elbow in the face of the other guy, would the ad read “that aint right”? No, because ultimately this ad is about how it “aint right” to have a dudes crotch in your face, not the pain aspect.
Like those slow motion shots in Ben Stiller movies where they are playing basketball and Bens face slams against some guys sweaty, hairy man-boob and the whole audience goes “AAAWWW GROSS!!!”, where as I, a gay man, sit there and go “wish that was me”.
The majority of your hetero viewers will see that ad and KNOW that the poor guy in read just got a dudes balls smashed in his face. Had this been a gay ad campaign the caption would have said SCORE!!!!!
and Jamal, your thinking and reasoning is what is wrong with the state of homophobic affairs today. It’s not the queens who need to settle down, the fact you use “queens” to describe someone you see as a whiny bitch tells the story of who you are and where your psyche is at. You need to pull your head out of your ass JUST ONCE in your life and look at the bigger picture, not your bitch ass sport of giving someone an “ass facial” in order to make him your bitch. That my little self-hating friend is what homophobes the world over are constantly trying to do to the gay community, make us their bitch. It’s offensive to the highest power and you feed right into and spread it along with the rest of them. Tragic queen….and by queen I mean Jamal.
Ha ha, Jamal — what a stupid comment! “Sports are about masculinity, and the most unmasculine thing another guy can do is have his face in your groin or caught looking at your ass.” OMG — so fucking stupid — LOLZ! What’s funny is that I can always tell when assholes who pretended to play sports seriously (but haven’t) resort to bullshit cliches about masculinity and what-have-you when the bottom line is always about winning. Period. Do you think Wayne Gretzky was any less great because he looked like a girl? Fuck you and your masculinity bullshit. Real athletes are concerned with the rules of the game and how to win, not how to degrade someone along the homophobic lines you lay out. But ha ha, srsly, do you lose points if you get caught looking at some guy’s ass? Funny, I played hockey (and lax) my entire life (Michigan guy here), and I don’t remember ever losing a game because I stared at some guy’s ass or had a crotch in my face (and yeah, it happens once in a while). But hey, maybe they updated the rules! If so, please send me a copy (from whatever sport) so I can post for everyone to see. Also, will this be in the Olympics? Like the US would have won the gold medal in basketball but they were penalized for looking at too much ass! LOLZ. Seriously, thanks Jamal, that’s really the dumbest thing anyone’s ever written on The Gay Recluse! You should feel proud. Really — hats off — congratulations. You’re officially in the running for dipshit of the year.
I don’t get it. I can’t see what it’s supposed to show due to the text slapped over it.
I took the photo into Photoshop and doubled the size of it. It is very clear, when the photo is enlarged, that the airborne guy’s crotch is in the grounded guy’s face! Mr. Airborned has his legs spread on either side of Mr. Grounded’s head. Very, very apparent! I would say that this is very much a homoerotic image, and considering that it is 2 black men, an obvious homophobic image. See the NY Times article re: black men on the “down low”. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE0D61E3FF930A3575BC0A9659C8B63
The African American community is still very homophobic; black men on the DL do not consider themselves homosexuals, as that isn’t “manly” or masculine. In my view, any man that regularly has sex w/ another man is gay, not hetero. If he is occasionally having sex w/ women, then perhaps he is bi-, but he sure isn’t hetero!
I think it is crock that they would even consider doing something like this gay straight what differance does it make only god can be the judge of anybody I am so over everybody thinking they are better because of who they have sex with love is love it dosent matter where you find it everybody deserves to be happy so needless to say I will NEVER support NIKE again
Frankly, I don’t believe you should be upset by this ad. I highly doubt it had anything to with homophobia and that you may be reading into it a little bit based on the fact that you appear to be predisposed to being sensitive to this particular issue. Personally, I think the image depicts someone getting disgraced due to the fact that another player was able to outperform them on such a level and the disgrace was compounded by the fact that the outperformed player got a crotch to the face.
Is it a man’s crotch in another man’s face? Yes, of course it is. Is it a man’s crotch in another man’s face in order to promote homophobia under the guise of advertising? I don’t think so. Objectively, it’s most likely a man’s crotch in another man’s face because the NBA is comprised of only men.
The issue here is a matter of disgrace which comes from one player being better than another and it was made worse by the fact their genitals were shoved in the inferior player’s face at the moment. To extend on this, Nike is hinting that if you had better shoes (AKA Nikes), you would be able to perform better and instead of getting balls (or labia majora) in your face, you’d be getting balls in the hoop (or layups, majorly).
Seriously, this ad would work for the NBA, the WNBA or any mixed gender variant thereof.
I really don’t see why this ad is homophobic. It’s clearly a reference to being humiliated in playground basketball. Commenters who are giving silly alternate poses for this ad (i.e. using an elbow in the face) have clearly never played basketball. Any man who is standing at elbow level to someone dunking over him is over 7 feet tall, and should never have been dunked on in the first place.
And, I hope I can assume that no one, gay or straight, is okay with having some stranger’s unwanted balls in their face (though gay men might want their lover’s balls in their face). That is the idea behind the ad – no one wants to be embarrassed like that on the basketball court. Even if the two players were gay, and everyone in the audience was gay, everyone would still laugh at the victim for getting “posterized.”
I have never met one person on the basketball court who actually enjoyed that position. Getting Dunked on is the biggest sign of showing someone up and often, you are asked to leave after being dunked on.
How does that deal with Homophobia?
They are advertising to people who play basketball, those things happen in a basketball court. Its about disrespect not butt sex
Listen Its Just An Add, BY NATURE, AND BY GOD, GAY IS WRONG! You Can Not Disprove This. I’m Not Against Gays, Ur Choice Is Ur Choice. But Two Of The Same Sex No Make Baby. Which Is The Point Of Sex. Be Gay If You Want, Just Stop Bitching About A Funny Nike Ad. Yes Most Real Men Don’t Like Balls In There Face, Hence The Joke. Nothing To Do With You, You Fag. Just Cause You Got Turned On In The Ass Doesn’t Mean You Have To Make Other Ppl Suffer. Just Shut The Fuck Up, And Give Me A God Damn Break. -Charles William Zippel, If U Wish To Contact Me Try dementedtheclown@yahoo.com
Silly faggots are always great for lulz
Well, my opinion probably doesn’t matter, but the ads don’t offend me. I’m gay, and people like you certainly don’t speak for me. In fact, I kind of resent you doing things like this, as it just perpetuates the misconception of how delicate the sensibilities of homosexuals are.
And what really pisses me off about calling the Snickers ad homophobic is that there is absolutely NO allusion to the fact that he’s gay, or that speedwalking is gay, and by condemning it as such, you’re saying that the inevitable conclusion is that he is, and consequently validating that stereotype.
Sorry, but you’re a moron. There’s nothing about homosexuality in those ads. That happens all the time during basketball games……and American Football…..and Greco Roman wrestling. Are you going to start attacking ads that feature those sports too? Sometimes a player gets their face in another guy’s crotch. It’s not intentional, it just happens during the game, match, etc. Guys don’t quit playing because of stuff like that, even knowing it will happen and not looking forward to having it happen. There was nothing about sex in the ads.
I can already tell I’m talking to a brick wall, so go ahead and bash me and spout more of your nonsense. I won’t be back to read your reply. There are some things that are really bad, that are really degrading, that really bash people. This was a freaking ad campaign with basketball players in it. For the normal, sane, intelligent person, it had nothing to do with sex, bashing, or anything beyond the game of basketball and the promotion of their shoes.
Get your head out of your ass and admit your mistake.
So Jamal, sports is about domination and making another man “your bitch”. You say it’s not homophobic and I say, It’s woman-hating. Is that what men really want from another person: to reduce them to the status of a woman (bitch)? Says a lot about the status of women. As far as I am concerned, male athletes should just stay away from women. Who needs them? Not only that, women should stay away from male athletes. Who wants to be their “bitch” anyway?
fuck you fags, leave stuff alone.
gay
I came here because I had no idea what the issue was with these ads and I was curious.
Really?
I did not have such a thought as you are suggesting until I saw your public shouting of it.
What is it called when one imagines homophobia in everything, homophobiamania?
If i were gay, I don’t think I would’ve wanted another guys crotch in my face WHEN PLAYING SPORTS. Probably in bed, but not in front of 40,000 fans in a sports arena, which probably is the setting for this ad.
Perhaps this ad could obset the S/M homosexuals who really are into exhibitionism, but The Gay Recluse’s response is “srsly, unbelievable”.
You so need a sense of humour, recluse man
I bet you could see Homophobic symbolism in anything you like……. if you look for it hard enough…..
how is that ad gay it shows how high you can jump with those shoes and humiliate two straight people
i dont see how you can be stupid enough to look for these things just to get publicity!!! and hey mabey it was an accident so shut the fuck up and stop they are saying it isnt right to the guy whos face is there now enough fuck you give it up!
Normally I’m not one to toss around slurs, but in this case, you deserve it:
Stop being such a fag. You are the reason people are prejudice against homosexuals. I bet you were up in arms about that Snickers commercial with Mr. T, too. NOT EVERYONE’S OUT TO GET YOU, and certainly not a huge conglomeration who probably employs more gay people than you even know.
I’m gay, and I’m not offended at all.
I thought the ads were funny. I don’t see how these ads would really affect a 14 year old and end up giving him AIDS. :-/
The ads were meant to be funny. I seriously doubt they would be taken as seriously as to make someone a self-hating, closeted gay.
Umm, I don’t get it. I have gay mates and they don’t get it either. It’s a brand that sells sports shoes promoting (oh dear god) men playing sport! I honestly think your a tad over sensitive. It’s an ad. Do you really think the co-operate suits sat in their air-conditioned offices and went “I have a great idea for an ad campaign! Let’s really stick it to those gay guys!”
ummm yeah, I’m sure they have better things to do with their time and money. The idea of an ad is to grab attention as their is a lot of competition out there. This it has done. I truly don’t believe they intentionly set out to offend. It’s cheeky, but that’s about it
It’s sad that we live in a society where people are paranoid enough to find persecution in things as meaningless as phone-booth advertisements.
This here Nike campaign is about humiliation, not sexual preference.
That’s what I see; and if the ad was meant to turn me against homosexuals, it sure didn’t work.
You have the right to think as you, please, though.
Just remember, not everyone is out to get you. :)
Wow, you are -really- getting too offended by this. It’s just an ad. Get over it. And really now, are you a tween or something? Stop using ‘Chat Speak’ and type like an adult or no one, NO ONE will take you seriously about this.
Well…I don’t follow your site or anything man, but I think you’re looking at this the wrong way…The add is not talking about two adults having consensual gay sex, it’s talking about a man shoving his crotch into the face of another obviously unwilling man…It’s like a basketball players way of pwning someone, dunking and shoving their crotch in the face of someone who doesn’t want it there….which just ain’t right D: I think they also chose this for an add because it will get a chuckle out of some people (I know it did me), and also because with the position of the players, it allows the audience to see the shoes, which (of course :P) gave the player issuing the crotch-to-face action the ability to do an amazing dunk that would show another guy up. -cough- Sorry if none of that made sense, I’m just stating my opinion n all, and I sort of rambled on. I can also see where you get the idea of a homophobic add, but I think you might just be making a bit too much out of it..
Hey everyone — thanks so much for commenting! For those few who seem to “get it,” thanks for the support. For the rest of you numskulls, take note that besides adding to our page views, even the stupids and the haters have given us lots of laughs here, because you seem to think that you might be able to convince us to change our mind about this stupid ad. Or maybe Nike will reverse its decision because of your dumb comments. Ha ha, that’s funny. But let’s face it, the ad shows a (completely exaggerated, btw) shot of a guy’s face/mouth like way up in another guy’s crotch and ass, which is a homoerotic image in any context, because it looks like two guys having sex (whether they are or not). Which would be totally cool — and sorry to disappoint you, but football and wrestling also have lots of homoerotic overtones, which again is part of the appeal — except that they added some “ghetto” language like “that ain’t right” or “the don’t tell yo mama’s neighbor” or whatever bullshit they came up with, and once you’ve added disapproving commentary to a homoerotic image, it becomes homophobic. And hey! Nike apparently agrees with us, so why don’t you all shut the fuck up and go cry somewhere else. That said, because we’re whores for internet traffic, feel free to come back and leave your stupid hater comments; we’ll approve them because we like to read them to our cats for lolz. Finally, we’d like to challenge all of the “this is just basketball” literalists out there to send us actual photographs from a real game where a guy’s face is even close to being this far up another guy’s ass. Srsy (that’s for you Caitlin!), email pix to us at thegayrecluse@gmail.com — we’d love to see the evidence and will be happy to post.
“If i were gay, I don’t think I would’ve wanted another guys crotch in my face WHEN PLAYING SPORTS. Probably in bed, but not in front of 40,000 fans in a sports arena, which probably is the setting for this ad.” I couldn’t have said it better, alex. As for you Gay Repulse, it’s not about us whining or being haters, some of us have gay/bi friends, and not even they are hypersensitive about this whole Nike’s ad thing. As for Nike agreeing with you, they just probably don’t want to fuss with a $10 million lawsuit over the whole event. So why don’t you find something real to fight over, you were saying at the top of the page how Nike should be forced to pay for AIDS and HIV support, how about that? Do something more productive than bitch about a couple advertisements.
“except that they added some ghetto language like “that ain’t right” or “the don’t tell yo mama’s neighbor” or whatever bullshit they came up with”
That is completely offensive to people who come from inner cities. I come from an inner city and I don’t speak like that. I demand this site be banned.
Now, do you realize the stupidity of that?
As far the image which you requested, look no further than the Duke game
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://euroross.blogspot.com/B-ball%2520Owned.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.euroross.blogspot.com/2005_03_01_euroross_archive.html&h=448&w=360&sz=39&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=uf0DzTt1s6Uz4M:&tbnh=127&tbnw=102&prev=/images%3Fq%3Downed%2Bbasketball%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
or we can look at the NBA
And lets not forget the Olympics
Welcome to sports Recluse, there is a lot of homophobia and nothing is ever going to change that. Sports are filled with a bunch of men who want to fit in more than anything else and since there are more straight people than gay people, especially in sports, very many athletes are homophobic.
Also, welcome to advertising, where a company goes after their demographic. Nike is a sports clothing line, and not a gay clothing line. They will always be making ads that appeal to athletes.
Don’t get me wrong, i think it’s terrible to make homophobic ads, but i also think it’s terrible to demand changes on something cause it offends you. Whatever happened to dealing with it. I’m in theatre and i get called gay all the time, and it offends me because I’m not, but i get on with it and don’t whine on a damn website about it. People hate you, i don’t because that’s not who I am or how I operate, but there are a ton of ignorant bastards out there who hate you for no reason. There are people who hate me, and there are people who hate my family, but somehow I manage to survive without being a whiny little bitch. Deal with the shittiness of the world and get on with your life, and do something productive
so…. would you feel better if they put (but if you’re gay then it’s ok, we don’t harbor any hard feelings towards you) at the bottom as a disclaimer?
and i also like how every comment on this page disagreeing with you, no matter how well thought out, is wrong and stupid.
i have a lot of gay friends but its gay people that accuse everyone of being homophobic and gay bashers that annoy me.
I’m gay and please don’t think you speak on my behalf. I also come from a Maori family (which are the indigenous people of New Zealand) which is very traditional and catholic. I am out to my entire family so I am used to sticking up for my sexuality. So when I was growing up I was told “gay is bad”, “fags go to hell” ect. so according to your story I should at be HIV+ right? that was your point before?
instead of complaining about every single thing that COULD be homophobic why not actually do something constructive against it. getting everything banned i.e. this and the snickers ad banned just fuels the fire. If just call “its homophobic” all the time it just means you’re self-conscious about what people think about you. I think we need to realise that forcing opinions on others is not the way to go.
If you werent gay you wouldn’t be so touchy about a normal ad. Believe it or not, having another mans groin in ur face aint the most pleasent thing to happen when playin sport. Now I’m saying nothing against gays, but grow up perhaps, not everything is an insult.
When I first saw this ad, it didn’t strike me at all as being gay in any way, shape, or form. I don’t play basketball and I’m not gay, but I am active in other sports. My first thought was “oh, that sucks, getting hit in the face like that. Ouch.” Once the point had been made that this whole ad was deliberately made to upset gay people, I then realized that the biggest reason homophobia (or any other prejudice) exists is because people make a huge deal about it when it happens. “LOOK! HE MADE A RACIAL/RELIGIOUS/GAY COMMENT! LET’S COMPLAIN AND TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LET’S LET EVERYONE KNOW HE’S A BAD PERSON!” Do I think this ad has anything to do with being gay? Um, no. Do I think it is related to sportswear? Yes.
I think it’s time for people to understand that everyone has their own personal views about everything in the world and for all of us to be a little less insecure with the choices they make in life. We’re all different, people. What one person thinks is a good idea will offend SOMEONE in the world, that’s a fact. I commend advertising because they’re trying to sell as much as they can to the most people without trying to offend anyone in the process. How many here have tried doing that?
And for those that think that Nike agrees with you, they don’t. If they did, they wouldn’t have put it up to begin with. They aren’t stupid or clueless. What they are doing is protecting their bottom line. They get sympathy points for responding to the numerous whiners. “Oh, look, Nike isn’t so bad, they took down the ads. Maybe I’ll go buy something from them after all.”
MORON.
There is no homophobia in that image at all, it’s homosexuals like you who feel like they are persecuted for being gay everywhere they turn when in reality no-one cares, get over it! It’s the 21st century now and no-one cares about homosexuals anymore, we are letting you get on with it but that’s not good enough is it. So you seize upon anything that you could deem remotely offensive to man loving men and run with it saying that the “straight” world is trying to put you down! Neither this nor the snickers ad is homophobic. In fact I think you’re little protests are more offensive to gay males here’s why; not all gay males are effeminite many are in fact very manly, I would wager that the more manly gays are rather offended by being bunched in with all the speedwalking homosexuals who bitched about T showing someone how to be a man
IAB rules, this sucks :)
your an idiot, seriously, just…. ahh i dunno fuck off and stop ruining advertisment for everyone
i have nothing wrong with gays, i do have a problem with cunts tho and you sir are most definatly the latter
Seriously???
It’s sad gay activists have nothing better to do then bitch and moan about LEGITIMATE ads.
There is nothing homophobic about these ads. It is just portraying the worst position to find yourself on the basketball court (and not because its in another players crotch). Its because you just got owned when the other player jumped over or through you to get to the basket.
I have been active in the GLBT community at my Univeristy (even though I am heterosexual) but this is too much.
Get a fucking life…
By the way – Kudos to Nike for a kicks ass ad campaign!
This is hilarious. get a life.
how about you just put a dick in your mouth like youre so fond of so you shut the fuck up. because if you dont like doing that, then you should have no problem with the ad,
wait, you shouldnt have a problem either way lmao
crash it
I don’t think it’s homo-phobic, I’m not gay, but still.
http://www.i-am-bored.com
Hey Recluse, you need to continue to be a recluse. You are beyond ignorant. Have you ever even seen a basketball game? Do you have a clue what an “insight” is. Obviously not. What have you gained by killing a great campaign. You ought to be ashamed and thank goodness what goes around comes around. Can’t wait until something you find to be a human truth such as getting dunked on, gets’ slandered and completely misrepresented. Get a clue recluse. Fool.
The images do not appear to be homophobic to the majority of the rational thinking world as is shown by the comments here. It seems that it is just your particularly sensitive personality that has trained itself to look for these things in ANYTHING. It is true, the human mind can find meanings for anything if it is already in such a persuasion to do so, as yours clearly has. The images for me yeah surely show two males in a situation which i don’t think anyone GAY or STRAIGHT would enjoy during a sports game with a stranger. The fact that this may be YOUR idea of fantasy (as you stated above) mixed with a negative statement may be what is making you feel so uncomfortable. SO it isn’t homophobic, it is actually just aimed a slandering your personal fantasy. Just YOU. What an unfortunate world you must live in, your persecution complex must be debilatating. You have had several comments on here, the majority i might add, which have put forward some quite reasonable arguments from both straight and gay people which do not agree with you. Your response to these is nothing short of childish (aside from the fag bashers) denouncing them as stupid, numbskulls etc etc. you have no right to a public voice if you cannot argue coherently and sensibly.
and i might add, that the comment you made stating that your not going to be convinced of any misunderstanding should also remove you from a public voice. You should ALWAYS be open to have your opinion changed, just because you believe you are right doesn’t mean you are. you have to be open to someone elses point of view as it is too easy to be blinkered unable to see past your own. They may see something you don’t. To say your opinion cannot be changed and then to scoff at everyone is stubborn, obnoxious, and obtuse.
Ok, just a few questions, then I’ll let you get back to whatever you’re doing.
Of all the things to be pissed at Nike for, (like constant use of child labor, advertising by saturation, pimping out every single recent sports hero, environmental violations, almost blatant racism, and many, many more issues) you pick some of their ads that You deem offensive to all gays everywhere. Don’t you have more important things to worry about other than what some huge, faceless corporation doing an ad campaign that was pulled when someone said it MIGHT be offensive to gay people, thus making them vulnerable to litigation? They didn’t pull it because some gay man said it was upsetting, thus doing the right thing pulling offensive, overtly meaningless sexual material from the public view, they were just fearful of being sued.
Also, the more pressing question. I’ve noticed that you, and some other gay men, seem to be rather one-sided, single minded people. The only thing that seems important is who you sleep with. Why is this? Because I don’t care what you do to whoever you do it to, be it man, woman, vegetable, mineral, or animal. As long as it’s consensual, and of legal age, it doesn’t matter to anyone but you and your partner.
It is clear that gays and lesbians are becoming more accepted into society, if not looked up to by some people, but this is a bit much. You’re dwelling on unimportant crap that has no impact on anyone, at least not deeply. It’s not going to make someone a violent gay basher, or a closet gay for that matter, that wasn’t already one. They’re ADs for christ sakes. How about throwing some of your clout into bringing more important issues to light, like maybe Male on Male rape, or “spousal” abuse in the gay and lesbian community.
Please, you seem like an intelligent person…be a multifaceted human being, instead of being Just a Gay Man.
Wow.
Not gay or anti-gay at all.
Nothing to do with you in any way.
Stop being such a sensitive whiny fag, and stop taking your insecurities out on the general public. In the real world, bitching like you have would get you slapped… by anyone.
Good thing you’re a recluse.
I love basketball!
This is so overreacted. It’s a joke. Get over it. And before everyone is like “anti gay anti gay” I am gay. There is absolutly nothing homophobic about this. You need to go out there, and find a reason to bitch. I mean really. Stop giving us a bad name. It’s bad enough.
I don’t see how this is homophobic… Is everything homophobic these days? Get off your sensitive high horse won’t ya? It ain’t right to be wearing anything other than Nike and letting a guy beat your ass on the court that’s what the ad shows and NO there is no underlining metaphor.
Thanks for being such a douchebag, Stephen! Why don’t you go bury your face in another guy’s crotch and send some pix for us all to enjoy.
As a gay man and sports nut, this ad is definitely not homophobic. Getting a crotch in your face when playing sports can be extremely awkward…yes, even in close contact sports such as wrestling. I play alot of basketball as well as soccer, and can tell you these things happen. Gay or not, it is still a bit menacing when the inevitable happens…and thank god it doesn’t happen too often. Unless Nike’s intent was to give the ad homoerotic undertones, this ad was spot on and fit to print.
If anything, I found the ad humorous for what it is, and not by what some D-list troll on gay rights thinks it is. (And yes, a bit intentional with the name-calling since the moderator seems inept at being objective with opinions)
Thanks for the srsly douchey comment, bro. Would like to know exactly what you think would be a homophobic ad.