I was chatting with friends yesterday about Nike inexplicably choosing Colin Kaepernick as their spox for the current ad season. While doing so I discovered a previously unremarked downside to the fact that, as far as I can remember, I’ve never purchased a single Nike product.
The downside is this - I cannot boycott Nike. Refusing (for ideological reasons) to buy their products going forward will exactly mirror my entirely non-ideological lack of custom in the past. Net impact on Nike: zero.
A boycott only “works” if it reflects a reduction in patronage. There is no conceivable way to reduce patronage below none. If I became irritated with New Balance, them I could boycott. Nike, on the other hand, I cannot.
I will have to be satisfied with the fact I’ve never spent a dime with Nike. I’ll try to think of it as a preemptive boycott, if self-delusion can stretch that far.
