Bianca Andreescu gives Nike a dressing down at US Open before issuing apology
Bianca Andreescu gave Nike a dressing down at the US Open in New York, a practice Nike was trying to encourage as a way to improve its relationship with female athletes.
While Andreescu was happy to see the company’s recent marketing efforts in her sport as a boost to her gender equality, she also said the company need to do better in its advertising efforts to the rest of society.
“I’ve been doing this for a number of years and I have to be honest and say that’s one of the reasons why I’m kind of mad at Nike,” Andreescu told ESPN.
Andreescu said Nike has done “great work” with some of its athletes, but that it could do better in promoting the work it is doing around women and equality across the board.
Andreescu called out Nike’s advertising campaign, which featured her playing a round of tennis at the 2014 Olympics in Beijing, as “a little too close to home,” referencing the company’s marketing tactics following the Paris attacks in November 2015, which included a Nike ad campaign that showed athletes in the aftermath of terrorist assault.
The ad played on this idea that the company’s products help people get to the Olympics or that they were essential to the athletes participating in the Paris attacks.
The campaign was criticized by many who felt the public should not be swayed by the ad, but it nonetheless helped turn attention to the issue of gun violence.
“It’s also really important not to give a platform to the very violence that we have to talk about in today’s society,” Andreescu said about the ad.
Andreescu went on to say that part of Nike’s problem as an organization is that the company needs