FirstCuts: Nike Pulls Three Hyperdunk Ads

Last week, with some people worked up over a series of Nike ads, we posed the question: Are these Nike ads homophobic? Nike listened to those offended by the ads and has pulled three of the ads done by Wieden+Kennedy.

Nike is strongly opposed to discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting athletes regardless of their sexual orientation. The advertisement in question is based purely upon a common insight from within the game of basketball - the athletic feat of dunking on the opposition, and is not intended to be offensive.

However, after listening to concerns expressed around specific executions, we have decided to drop them from the campaign to underline our ongoing commitment to supporting diversity in sport and the workplace.

Nike has a strong record of support for diversity and is proud to have been honored with a 100 percent score over several consecutive years in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index.

Nike has garnered so much positive buzz for this shoe that it was probably wise to nip this issue quickly rather than allowing it to fester and become a distraction. After all, this shoe is obviously the company's flagship model for the year.

But while three ads have been pulled (even from the W+K site) -- the ones that read "That Ain't Right," "Isn't That Cute," and "Punks Jump Up" -- the commercials for the Hyperdunks still exist. While the first ad, which ran during Team USA's win against Canada on Friday, doesn't feature any such crotch-on-face action, the second does.

If Nike deemed those three ads too controversial, will it be long before this ad is pulled, too? I've yet to see it run on TV personally, and I'll be surprised if it ever does. Given the reference to "Terry's Bavarian White Sausage On White Bread W/ Sweet Mustard," and the still shot that is almost exactly like the Nike promos that were pulled, this thing will never see the light of TV.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.