Jour 4460 Blog 12: Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right

Naming a product is probably one of the most important steps in marketing. The name has to compliment the idea or image behind the product and the company that produces it. What would you think of a company that named its product after an oppressive unit who were known for their vicious attacks against civilians, after another company already made the same mistake? Well, that’s what Nike did.

Nike releases seasonal shoes. This year for St. Patrick’s Day the company released the “Nike SB Black and Tan Quickstrike.” According to Mark Hanrahan of the Huffington Post the shoe “is named after the Black and Tan drink made by mixing stout and lager -- usually Guinness and Harp or Bass -- in a pint glass, according to the Belfast Telegraph.” What’s the harm in naming a shoe after a drink?

Well, for many Irish the phrase “Black and Tan” has another meaning. During the 1920’s, Britain created a group of ex-soldiers to suppress the rising Irish revolution. The nickname “Black and Tans” was given to this group because of their uniforms. This group was known for its aggressive attacks on Irish civilians and “quickly acquired an unenviable reputation for ill-discipline,” according to BBC. Not exactly the brightest idea to insult the culture that is associated with St. Patrick’s Day.  That’s not all.

Ben and Jerry’s made the same mistake in 2006, naming and ice cream flavor after the alcoholic drink. Lee Holden, a spokesperson for Ben and Jerry’s, was quoted in The Guardian saying, “"We have had a small amount of contacts from people letting us know how Black and Tan originated. We were not aware of that.”

Both companies should have done research about the phrase “Black and Tan.” Was no one in the office curious to the origins of the drink? A simple search on Google brought me to quite a few websites about the history of the Black and Tans, pertaining to the drink and the history of the brutish group.

According to www.washingtonpost.com, Brian Strong, a Nike spokesperson, issued an apology for the misunderstanding stating, ““This month Nike is scheduled to release a quick strike version of the Nike SB Dunk Low that has been unofficially named by some using a phrase that can be viewed as inappropriate and insensitive. We apologize.  No offense was intended.”

Unless I’m mistaken, companies usually put quite a bit of time and effort in conducting research about how a product’s name will do in the market. Did Nike just decide to skip this step? Would it not be a good idea to ask some people of Irish decent how they feel about the design and the name since they released the shoe in conjunction with St. Patrick’s Day?

In my opinion, there is no excuse why this situation should have occurred. Hanrahan quoted “Ciaran Staunton, President of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform…[saying,] ‘It would be the American equivalent of calling a sneaker 'the al-Qaeda'... Is there no one at Nike able to Google Black and Tan?’”