In case you're thinking about getting those new personalized
shoes from nike for the upcoming season.... Nike now lets you
personalize your shoes by submitting a word or phrase which
they will stitch onto your shoes, under the swoosh. So Jonah
Peretti filled out the form and sent them $50 to stitch
"sweatshop" onto his shoes.
Here's the responses he got... fun and games with Nike...
---------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com>
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Your NIKE iD order was cancelled for one or more of the
following reasons:
1) Your Personal iD contains another party's trademark or
other intellectual property
2) Your Personal iD contains the name of an athlete or team
we do not have the legal right to use
3) Your Personal iD was left blank. Did you not want any
personalization?
4) Your Personal iD contains profanity or inappropriate
slang, and besides, your mother would slap us.
If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new
personalisation please visit us again at www.nike.com
Thank you, NIKE iD
---------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Jonah H. Peretti" <peretti@media.mit.edu>
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com>
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Greetings,
My order was canceled but my personal NIKE iD does not
violate any of the criteria outlined in your message.
The Personal iD on my custom ZOOM XC USA
running shoes was the word "sweatshop."
Sweatshop is not:
1) another's party's trademark,
2) the name of an athlete,
3) blank, or
4) profanity.
I choose the iD because I wanted to remember the toil and
labour of the children that made my shoes.
Could you please ship them to me immediately.
Thanks and Happy New Year, Jonah Peretti
---------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com>
To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'" <peretti@media.mit.edu>
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Dear NIKE iD Customer,
Your NIKE iD order was cancelled because the iD you have
chosen contains, as stated in the previous
e-mail correspondence, "inappropriate slang".
If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new
personalization please visit us again at nike.com
Thank you, NIKE iD
---------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Jonah H. Peretti" <peretti@media.mit.edu>
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com>
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Dear NIKE iD,
Thank you for your quick response to my inquiry
about my custom ZOOM XC USA running shoes.
Although I commend you for your prompt customer
service, I disagree with the claim that my
personal iD was inappropriate slang.
After consulting Webster's Dictionary, I discovered
that "sweatshop" is in fact part of standard English,
and not slang. The word means: "a shop or factory
in which workers are employed for long hours
at low wages and under unhealthy conditions"
and its origin dates from 1892. So my personal
iD does meet the criteria detailed in your first email.
Your web site advertises that the NIKE iD program is
"about freedom to choose and freedom to express who you are."
I share Nike's love of freedom and personal expression.
The site also says that "If you want it done right
...build it yourself." I was thrilled to be able to build
my own shoes, and my personal iD was offered as a small
token of appreciation for the sweatshop workers poised
to help me realize my vision. I hope that you will value
my freedom of expression and reconsider your decision to
reject my order.
Thank you, Jonah Peretti
---------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com>
To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'" <peretti@media.mit.edu>
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Dear NIKE iD Customer,
Regarding the rules for personalization it also states
on the NIKE iD web site that "Nike reserves the right
to cancel any personal iD up to 24 hours after it has
been submitted". In addition, it further explains: "While
we honor most personal iDs, we cannot honor every one.
Some may be (or contain) other's trademarks, or the names
of certain professional sports teams, athletes or celebrities
that Nike does not have the right to use.
Others may contain material that we consider inappropriate
or simply do not want to place on our products.
Unfortunately, at times this obliges us to decline personal
iDs that may otherwise seem unobjectionable. In any event,
we will let you know if we decline your personal iD,
and we will offer you the chance to submit another."
With these rules in mind, we cannot accept your order
as submitted. If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product
with a new personalization please visit us again at
www.nike.com
Thank you, NIKE iD
---------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Jonah H. Peretti" <peretti@media.mit.edu>
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com>
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Dear NIKE iD, Thank you for the time and energy you have
spent on my request. I have decided to order the shoes with
a different iD, but I would like to make one small request.
Could you please send me a color snapshot of the ten-year-old
Vietnamese girl who makes my shoes?
Thanks,
Jonah Peretti
---------------------------------------------------------------
[no response]
As one forwarder writes: ... this will now go round the world
much farther and faster than any of the adverts they paid
Michael Jordan more than the entire wage packet of all their
sweatshop workers in the world to do...
I normally avoid making a plea to pass on these things, but
this time I say: JUST DO IT
(If this email contains too many horrible >>>>> quote signs,
because people do not know how to FORWARD INLINE [netscape]
cut and paste a fresh copy from:
http://www.oocities.org/CapitolHill/3589/nike.html ;-)
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