[Nettime-bold] Slave Didn’t do it.

[Sean Healy <evolver@loud.org.au>]

“I'm really sorry to have to do this but... "

It's surely no surprise to have an article knocked back becuase it
mentioned a big advertiser in a negative light. And while I chuckled at
my Buy Nothing Day article being put aside last year when another full
page ad scrapped my column that week, at least I got to run it again
later.

What surprised me about having this article knocked back was the
bluntness of the language the editor used, someone who I happen to get
along with quite well too. The article was about Nike's recent attempts
to use activist aesthetics to sell football boots, on both billboards
and fake activist websites.

So hot on the heels of that 'sweatshop-custommade-shoe' email doing the
rounds, here's another for you to pass on .
dialogue with the editor, followed by article.

s

EDITORS REPLY TO MY ARTICLE:
Subject: Slave: Don’t Do it
I'm really sorry to have to do this but as Nike frequently do gloss
centre spreads with ‘MagazineX’ the General Manager is not allowing us
to print the article you wrote. Sorry about that because it's actually a
great article. I guess I don't need to tell you how ‘MagazineX’ works
and as much as it sickens me, the advertisers do pay rent, so while I do
my best not to kiss ass, I must also refrain from sticking the boot in.
Unfortunately ‘MagazineX’ has to stay pretty wishy washy when it comes
to ethical and moral opinions.
Soooo.... if you'd be able to furnish me with another articlee it wuld
be very much appreciated.

MY REPLY:
heya ed,
disappointed but not surprised....
can i modify it? what would need to be removed? or rephrased? i can
include other non-nike relevant bits and remove the slave just do it
references... can super-modify ove 2nite if u need it remixed?

jean poole

ED’S NEXT REPLY:
Just to be on the safe side with my publisher (and to save myself from
yet another hour long lecture about how advertisers are our bread and
butter yaddah, yaddah, yaddah) I think it would be best to avoid Nike
all together. The reason being that they've taken out huge campaigns
with us in the past and I also had to pull a film review which another
anti Nike contributor wrote quite recently. In fact, this is the third
potentially litigious or
potentially ad-pulling article I've had to pull this week. It never
rains, it pours.

I know it sucks, but given “magazineX”’s reliance on advertisers for
income, it's best to steer well clear of anything that would piss off an
advertiser. The result? The beige and bland, ad packed copies of
“magazineX” you see each week that advertisers still complain about! (I
just can't wait for the editor's position at Ralph to become open!)

Sorry I can't use it, but I just don't want to risk it. My life wouldn't
be worth living if I was the cause of losing a client as "valuable" as
Nike.

If you want to discuss it with me call me on “magazineXfone number”, but
there's nothing much more to say on the issue really.

Again, my apologies - if it were up to me, I'd be right there with ya.

Take care
magazineX ed


And the article?

ban the boot dot com mom
******************
If you’re going to move in downstairs from speed dealers, insure your
laptop. Or chain it to your skateboard like Jean Poole, so you can send
in news of the latest corporate web scam, and pop a mean kickflip to
backside smith grind at the same time.

Unfortunately if you jump to the ‘activist’ website for the ‘Fans Fight
for Fairer Football’, you’ll find the site is down. Which is a shame on
one hand, because it might be interesting for you to have a look at how
everyone’s favourite sweatshoppers ‘slave-just-do-it’ have adopted the
activist aesthetic to try and sell more shoes.

Maybe you’ve already noticed the billboards around though, with a big
football boot and slogans like "Our most offensive boot ever, "  "What
next, rocket packs?," and "Fair Minded Footy Fans say Not Fair Mr
Technology". Bland and typical ad campaign, sure, but these
‘slave-just-do-it’ billboards are also pasted over with messages in
order to feign outrage at the supposed injustice of boots that are
simply too good, complete with messy type font and the ffff.com.au
address added for other outraged citizens to mobilise around. And
conveniently, these ‘activists’ seemed to forget to cover over the
‘slave-just-do-it’ swoosh logo in their daring late night raid.

But maybe it’s all backfired for the swoosh team, themselves the usual
targets of  activists who highlight the human rights abuses and
appalling conditions within ‘slave-just-do-it’s’ Asian factories
manufacturing their shoes. They’ve taken down the ffff.com.au site down,
but not before bantheboot.com arrived and bantheboot.com posters stared
appearing on top of these billboards around Australia.

Luckily for billboard alteration connoisseurs, Jean Pooligan saved a
version of ‘slave-just-do-it’s’ ffff.com.au before it went down, so you
can enjoy text such as:

“ A few seasons ago, a small group of Footy fans set aside their club
allegiances and banded together for a single cause that they believed
was fair and just and righteous and honest and really very important. We
are that group. We are the FFFF. Which stands for, Fans Fight for Fairer
Football. ..our cause is a provocative one. Perilous to those involved.
So you will forgive us our anonymity. But just because you can't put a
face to us doesn't mean that we aren't real. As this world wide web site
proves, we are SERIOUS. We believe in football. We believe in
fairness.....We are ready to fight those trying to introduce unfairness
to our great sport by introducing technologically advanced products such
as the slave-just-do-it Air Zoom Total 90 and slave-just-do-it Air Zoom
Internationals. “

Just doin'’ it, of course, were bantheboot.com who as well as links to
slave-just-do-it human rights abuses, and info about attempts to shut
down all OZ slave-just-do-it stores on may 1, include a hilarious ffff
video on their site, ‘fist fucking football fun’ which explores to
hilarious effect, the notion that if the AFL were a reflection of
Australian society, there would be over 50 gay players.

In another blow to the ‘slave-just-do-it’ image, it seems like just
about anyone on a mailing list was recently forwarded the text of an
email interaction with a person wanting a personalised pair of
‘slave-just-do-it’s with the label, "Sweatshop," slave-just-do-it
refused the request without stating any good reason, but millions have
chuckled over the to and fro.

Maybe someone should nominate the ban the booters for the biftek
electronic subversion
awards? ( www.biftek.com ) Ah, billboards, just do ‘em, eh?

*note, company name replaced in this article with ‘slave just do it’ to
avoid unnecessary advertising ;-)

jeanpoole@disinfo.net
(article pasted up on the http://www.octapod.org.au billboard )




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