New Nike Ad featuring 12 year old...opinions?

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Replies

  • amoffatt
    amoffatt Posts: 674 Member
    I love this Nike Ad!!! I am about 50 pounds overweight but want to be able to jog/run on a daily basis without stopping. I push myself and am excited when I ran a cross country track up and down a hill on dirt and bark chips in 96 degree weather for 7 minutes strait! Some laugh but it was great for me.

    Not everyone has to be thin to start jogging or even walking. People complain that bigger individuals dont get up and move but when they do, fingers point and laugh. Of course not everyone is like this, but these are reasons why I would not leave my house to enjoy the outside to jog, now, I say screw it! I have every right to be out there with everyone else.

    Thank you Nike for this inspirational ad!:bigsmile:

    ^ You. Are. Amazing. :drinker:

    Thank you! This comment means a lot to me. I was that fat kid and hid in my house afraid of the world... Not anymore..:happy:
  • ShaunaLaNee
    ShaunaLaNee Posts: 188 Member
    What? 12 year olds aren't supposed to run? I don't understand the controversy.

    I don't get it either???
  • JoolieW68
    JoolieW68 Posts: 1,879 Member
    While obviously I hate to see that he's overweight, I love the commercial and find it inspiring. The kid is out there doing his thing and he's working. I find it more identifiable than a "perfect" athlete wearing the shoes.

    This!

    I found it very inspiring, as did my 14yr old daughter.
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
    I saw it and loved it. It was meant, I thought, to be inspiring. Not everyone who's working out looks like an Olympic athlete and we're all in different stages of our 'fitness journey.'

    I wonder if everyone who got all offended at the supposed exploitation (meaning the ones writing articles and whatnot) might just find fat people offensive? I mean, I don't see how you can call is exploitation unless one assumes his flaws were being displayed for the purpose of humiliating him or that if you're fat, you should hide until it's gone so as not to make others uncomfortable.

    The ad referred to 'greatness,' and since I struggle with my weight, I know how hard it is just to get out there or, say, go to the gym and exercise amongst all the lovely hard-bodies; I thought the ad was perfect.
  • samntha14
    samntha14 Posts: 2,084 Member
    I could see how it could be taken as exploitation of this kid and other kids in his situation. But if it gets just one person off the couch to make a change for the better then I think it is a great commercial.
    This is exactly what I thought too. Some kid may see that commercial, they may not even notice the shoes, but they'll see a boy trying change for the better.
  • buckmeatball
    buckmeatball Posts: 39 Member
    When I first saw the commercial I almost cried. I was an overweight adolescent so I know the pain. HOWEVER, after watching the interview on the Today show, I didn't get the sense that he or his mother felt his weight was an issue. Nike never said they would check up on him, Matt Lauer is the one who suggested that. The kids weight is a real health risk but I didn't get the the sense this was the first step in a new lifestyle but just a one day occurrence. I certainly hope I'm wrong.
  • cherylhirons
    cherylhirons Posts: 37 Member
    Sad story about the 9 yearl old girl:(. As far as the commercial I think it is inspiring! My daughter had a passing out dehydrated incident at the zoo a few weeks ago. We were at the zoo for 45 minutes. With her sports we push fluids, that day she had milk with lunch but at over 100 degrees she was behind. Anyhow about the commercial, my 12 year old goes with us to the gym and runs a mile then walks fast uphill on the treadmill. She works hard to keep conditioned for soccer and now for volleyball, the importance of water is discussed with each workout now. We also workout with her, we don't just drop her off. As far as the kid in the commercial being chunky it is soooooo moving as it brings reality to the rise in obesity:)
  • mgraue82
    mgraue82 Posts: 168 Member
    While obviously I hate to see that he's overweight, I love the commercial and find it inspiring. The kid is out there doing his thing and he's working. I find it more identifiable than a "perfect" athlete wearing the shoes.

    ^^^ THIS!
  • AVinmill
    AVinmill Posts: 88 Member
    Good commercial. seems to me many unfit people like to complain when there is nothing but perfectly shaped people in ad's for fitness products or underwear or whatever. Nike is giving people what they want, someone that doesn't fit the mould out there still giving it all he's got. They're saying "we know you're not an olympian but that doesn't mean you can't get out there too". Probably good encouragement for some kid out there with the minset "I can't" or "not possible", kids aren't logical maybe it will give them the courage to get out there and try.
  • myth4ever
    myth4ever Posts: 372
    What? 12 year olds aren't supposed to run? I don't understand the controversy.

    right
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
    Not offended, but I found the voice to be a bit creepy
  • mom2handh1975
    mom2handh1975 Posts: 224 Member
    LOL he looks old. I know I'm fat but I don't look THAT old. And he's only 5'3"? Wow.

    Boo! You're seriously going to bash a 12 year old kid??? He's doing something to feel better about himself, and comments like yours are what make overweight kids hate themselves. Shame on you!
  • vanillasugar
    vanillasugar Posts: 246 Member
    While obviously I hate to see that he's overweight, I love the commercial and find it inspiring. The kid is out there doing his thing and he's working. I find it more identifiable than a "perfect" athlete wearing the shoes.


    Obviously the boy's parents were involved. It isn't as if Nike just plucked him off the street, filmed the commercial and told him to get lost. No way this is exploitation, especially since it may open the eyes of both the young and old about the state of our children's physical fitness. Sure, they may get a few more shoe sales out of the deal, but so what? Companies can be both for profit, and not evil.

    I wholeheartedly agree with both of these posts.
  • angelalf1979
    angelalf1979 Posts: 244 Member
    I was attempting to run the other day and this kid came to mind. It helped me keep going. I think it was inspiring!!
  • MidgeN27
    MidgeN27 Posts: 152 Member
    I thought the commercial was awesome, showing the greatness we all have inside us! Very inspiring! I hope it inspires other young people to find their greatness!
  • mom2handh1975
    mom2handh1975 Posts: 224 Member
    I love this Nike Ad!!! I am about 50 pounds overweight but want to be able to jog/run on a daily basis without stopping. I push myself and am excited when I ran a cross country track up and down a hill on dirt and bark chips in 96 degree weather for 7 minutes strait! Some laugh but it was great for me.

    Not everyone has to be thin to start jogging or even walking. People complain that bigger individuals dont get up and move but when they do, fingers point and laugh. Of course not everyone is like this, but these are reasons why I would not leave my house to enjoy the outside to jog, now, I say screw it! I have every right to be out there with everyone else.

    Thank you Nike for this inspirational ad!:bigsmile:

    Amen! Watching some skinny chick with surgically enhanced breasts that don't jiggle does NOT make me want to get out there. Let them point and snicker. I'll just give them the middle finger and let them eat my dust!!!
  • kylTKe
    kylTKe Posts: 146 Member
    They're not exploiting the child (although they have in the past, read: sweatshops), they're exploiting you the viewer. This is why everyone's first response to any running question is "Get fitted, buy new shoes."

    Nike products don't make you "great" but they'll be damned if they're gonna let you think that.
  • cherylhirons
    cherylhirons Posts: 37 Member
    Can't believe his mother can show her face on television without explaining how she let him get to that stage in the first place. This is child neglect, just as if you were feeding the child too little or failing to educate them as to why they need to eat enough, feeding them too much or failing to educate them on why they need to eat less, and making better food choices for and with them. It gets me really cross when I see these poor kids struggling to do the simplest of tasks, wasted childhood, this kid must feel like a 40 year old.

    How's the view up there on your high horse?

    precisely my thoughts. OP needs to chill. I don't think my mom abused or neglected me to let me get to this point. Did OP neglect herself if she's to the point where she wants to lose weight too?

    I so agree, I do believe that a major portion of childhood obesity is caused by parent laziness( actually did a research paper on childhood obesity), however no one knows his story, I would rather judge my obesity then someone who's story I do not know. I was a skinny child but was allowed to eat whatever fast food I wanted, if I wasn't active I would have been fat, oh and that's why I'm fat now.
  • ncthomas09
    ncthomas09 Posts: 322 Member
    I don't think that just because you're a kid, you're allowed to eat whatever you want. Being a kid is not an excuse, that's why alot of kids are overweight nowadays. You have to learn being healthy and adjust to this lifestyle from a very young age, I'm glad this boy is realizing it so soon <3

    This and I blame video games in some cases....When i was a kid you got up and played outside running around with other kids, and when I lived in the country I ran around with the dogs and got on my bike. I didn't sit in front of the tv/video game 24/7 while eating a bunch of junk.

    Although this isn't the case with every child that is overweight but I know it's the case for a lot of them.
  • tajmel
    tajmel Posts: 401 Member
    I'm irritated by commercials whether they try to pander to a wider audience or not. It feels exploitative either way... because it is. It's advertising.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
    I loved the commercial. I saw it during closing ceremonies of the Olympics, and said to my daughter (who just turned 13), "if he can do it-so can you!" She thinks she simply can't run. *rollseyes* She's got the physique, just not the umph.
  • shanae727
    shanae727 Posts: 546 Member
    INSPIRING!
  • tajmel
    tajmel Posts: 401 Member
    I'm irritated by commercials whether they try to pander to a wider audience or not. It feels exploitative either way... because it is. It's advertising.

    Know what kind of Nike commercial I could get behind? One that showcased the shoe and its functionality. Tell me what's different about your shoe, what purpose it's designed for, what advantages it will give me. Don't tell me how even someone like me can use it and certainly don't imply that your shoe will make me beautiful, or more worthy of love, or stronger, or more dedicated, or more spiritual. Just tell me what's special about the shoe. That's it.

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