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Nike has played a big role in promoting women's basketball and making WNBA players more visible and popular. The giant shoe brand celebrated 25 years of support in July 2024, and Team USA’s women’s national basketball team won the 2024 Paris Olympics garbed in merchandise from “The Swoosh.”
On Friday, a promotional ad from the brand, valued by Forbes to be worth $122 billion, created a social media storm. The commercial focused on an “all-women dynasty” that “makes Alexander the Great look like Alexander the OK.”
X, formerly Twitter, users promptly reacted to the video:
“The difference of a delusional and a wise human being, is that a delusional speaks for himself while a wise/great being makes people speak its name for thousands of years."
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“That's what Alexander accomplished”
@ulyssesthethird did not hold back:
“These people are such clowns, and equally as clownish and evil is Nike for giving these ideas a platform and pushing them onto the masses.”
One fan piled on the criticism:
“Funny the best player in the league is a white chick. They hate that”
Another fan commented:
“Nike doesn't even know what a woman is.”
Alexander the Great is a historical figure who turned 30 when his empire stretched from Asia to Egypt. The ancient Macedonian was said to have been undefeated in battle and considered a brilliant military tactician.
Nike’s ad ruffled the feathers of many, including non-basketball fans who thought promoting women's basketball didn’t have to belittle a legendary figure.
Nike’s ad focused on the US women's basketball team
The dynasty that Nike propped up in the ad is the US women's basketball team which has been almost unbeatable in the Olympics. Since joining the competition in 1976, the Americans have failed to win the gold medal just thrice. They finished silver in their first appearance, boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics and placed second in 1992.
Team USA has won the gold since 1996, making their triumph in Paris their eighth straight, with LeBron James called the run inspiring. In basketball, that might be the greatest run, but taking a shot at Alexander the Great to emphasize that accomplishment didn’t sit well with most.
