Nike's Brand Problems, Whipped Cream Sunscreen, NDAs, and Bar Rescue
How the sportswear giant missed the run club boom and its cheap nostalgia plays
Good morning everyone, hope you had a great weekend.
In Today’s Newsletter—
Nike’s Sales Slump & How They Missed the Run Club Hype
The Cut’s Deep Dive on NDA’s
Whipped Sunscreen & Amazing Branding
Advice from Bar Rescue’s Jon Taffer
I’m currently apartment hunting in Brooklyn and I forgot how annoying it is to do apartment diligence. Touring the place, asking the same questions, drafting various documents, tracking the pros and cons of each potential place.
How does a rooftop with a great view weigh against more floor space? How close is this apartment to the nearest Equinox? It’s a massive pain, and at the end of the process you get spend thousands of dollars just to move, which typically requires you to pay a broker (someone who opens the door to the apartment and nothing more) 15% of your annual rent just because… its New York City.
NEWS
Nike’s sales are slumping and the company is in disarray. The world’s foremost sneaker company experienced its worst stock day on record last Friday, slumping 20% after analysts forecasted a staggering 10% decline in sales. The company brought on John Donahoe, formerly an e-commerce genius at eBay, as CEO in 2020, as the brand pivoted to increase direct-to-consumer sales. While this strategy worked for awhile, the company is now scrambling to find a solution, as consumer interest has waned and sales have cratered.
Part of Nike’s problem, is its focus on re-releasing classic sneakers from their vault (the company plans to drop a once coveted Wu-Tang Clan Dunk soon) has shifted their brand perception from one of innovation to one of hype and nostalgia.
In turn, Nike is seldom found on the feet of runners, who have opened their minds to trying up and coming brands such as Hoka, or ON Running. The Wall Street Journal wrote that Nike missed the run club boom. While I still like Nike for running (currently training in the new Pegasus 41) I really do not see them out there often anymore, and their most technologically advanced marathon shoes retail for $250-$350, pricing them significantly above competitors, and probably out of reach for consumers who like to run but don’t need a shoe to run a sub-2 hour marathon.
(I’d be remised to not plug my own run club, The Manhattan Project here) It will be interesting to see if Donahoe gets dropped, or if the iconic brand will be able to stay the course under his leadership. I do think its telling that some insiders say Travis Scott means more for Jordan Brand than Michael Jordan himself at this point, which is really indicative Nike is not telling the right story to appeal to athletes.
The Cut wrote a deep dive on the history of NDA’s. If you’ve ever worked for a tech company, gone to an exclusive event, or slept with a celebrity… chances are you’ve signed an NDA. The non-disclosure agreement is a legally binding document that essentially silences the signee, and puts implications of litigation on them should they spill any tea. The document has been surging in popularity, now finding its way into post-divorce settlements. I love this deep-dive and if anyone has any important secrets they want to tell me, I never break my NDAs.
Vacation’s Whipped Sunscreen is this Summer’s most interesting beachside product. The sunscreen, which launched in 2022, looks like a whipped cream can and feels like whipped cream… but its sunscreen.
The New York Times spoke with some Whipped Cream customers, who claimed the product was catching attention by the pool or at the beach, with people coming up and asking what it was. While I haven’t tried Vacation’s whipped cream yet, I am a big fan of their Chardonnay oil, and I think the whipped cream sunscreen fits perfectly into their product portfolio. Vacation’s brand is so unique, and carefully executed across their website, social media, and product line. They’re vintage aesthetic comes across as fun, and applying a whipped cream sunscreen is so whimsical. I love how Vacation has built their brand. I also think, from a product development perspective, the Whipped Sunscreen is viral because its a new take on a traditionally boring product category. People see it online or in-person and want to try it for themselves because its shocking and unique, and its priced well to reduce friction.
If you’re thinking of launching a product, trying something new that gets people and journalists talking is really critical to find success. BTW if you care about sun protection, I interviewed Emma Gerber, co-founder of Claudent last week.
GQ interviewed Jon Taffer Ahead of the 250th Episode of Bar Rescue. If you know me, you know I love Bar Rescue. Its one of my favorite shows to watch to turn off my brain. The transformations are cool, but the real highlight of that show is its magnetic host, Jon Taffer, a pro bar consultant and frequent screamer. GQ sat down with Taffer to ask about the show, and I was stunned to find out his original pitch to Paramount was rejected. But Taffer was persistent, and ended up cutting a sizzle reel himself and got four production offers. Honestly, there were a lot of motivational gems in this interview so I recommend reading. He even spoke on comparisons to Gordon Ramsay, to which he said he’s never seen an episode of Kitchen Nightmares.
I thought I’d do a pilot and go home. You wanna hear full circle? When they said to me, You’ll never be on TV, that was on the Paramount lot. Where am I today? On the Paramount Network! — Jon Taffer
Okay gotta go, first of the month so its time to lock in. Have a great day and see you tomorrow.
Jake Bell is a content marketing, creative strategist, and designer based in NYC. He specializes in brand building, content creation, branding, art direction, creative strategy, and making things cool.
Want to chat? Email me: jake@jb.studio