Colin Kaepernick won an Emmy for his controversial “Dream Crazy” advertisement, Breitbart reports.
The former football player and progressive activist beat out Apple, Netflix, and Sandy Hook Promise to win an Emmy for best commercial at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sunday. The winning ad, in which Kaepernick says, “Believe in something even if it means sacrificing everything,” prompted instant backlash when it aired last September.
Kaepernick wins Emmy
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has stirred continual controversy since launching his kneeling protests in 2016, which Kaepernick said were meant to highlight discrimination against minorities and police brutality. Kaepernick has been a free agent ever since, and he has gradually developed into a prominent left-wing activist.
Kaepernick solidified his transformation into a “woke” activist last year when he became the face of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign. Nike’s decision proved controversial because of Kaepernick’s politics; President Donald Trump attacked the company, and some conservative protesters even burned their Nike gear.
In the advertisement, which features famous athletes like Serena Williams and LeBron James, Kaepernick shares a message of progress over adverse circumstance, concluding: “Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they’re crazy enough.”
Despite predictions of a sales drop, Nike’s sales went up in the weeks after the spot aired. According to reports, “Dream Crazy” is Nike’s first win in the category since 2002, so it looks like wokeness may be good for business after all.
Fox News reports that Nike beat out left-leaning companies like Apple, which released advertisements for the Macbook and iPhone XS, and Netflix, as well as Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of gun violence. Wieden + Kennedy, which created the “Dream Crazy” ad, said it “focuses on a collection of stories that represent athletes who are household names and those who should be. The common denominator: All leverage the power of sport to move the world forward.”
“Woke” entertainment congratulates itself
Award shows are sometimes derided by cynics as events where the entertainment industry celebrates itself, and indeed, as woke activism and mass entertainment continue to intersect, Oscars and Emmys are increasingly doled out based on political ideology. Kaepernick’s Emmy seems to be yet another example of the woke entertainment-media complex patting itself on the back.
In recent years, Emmy awards for best advertisement have gone to spots highlighting social justice causes. 2018’s winner, “The Talk,” dealt with issues of racism. Netflix’s losing ad this year, “A Great Day in Hollywood,” celebrated the emerging importance of identity politics in film casting.
Meanwhile, Kaepernick continues to wield considerable influence as a woke activist. The former quarterback was the center of controversy again this summer when Nike dropped production on a Betsy Ross-themed sneaker, Air Max 1 USA, after Kaepernick complained that the shoe evoked America’s slave-holding past. Nike promptly complied and pulled it from shelves.
“After images of the shoe were posted online, Mr. Kaepernick, a Nike endorser, reached out to company officials saying that he and others felt the Betsy Ross flag is an offensive symbol because of its connection to an era of slavery,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
Kaepernick has not appeared in any Nike ads since last year, according to the Daily Caller.
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