Former NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s Nike commercial won an Emmy award Sunday.
“Dream Crazy” won the Emmy for outstanding commercial at the 2019 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, according to a report published by CNN. The award becomes the first Emmy Nike has received since 2002, the New York Times reported.
The commercial featured Kaepernick along with other major athletes who participate in social justice advocacy, including Serena Williams and Lebron James. The advertisement originally aired in September 2018.
“Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” the tagline with the ad read. (RELATED: Colin Kaepernick’s Attorney Goes After Jay-Z Over Deal With NFL)
The ad created more controversy in the wake of Kaepernick’s protest campaign against the national anthem. The commercial was successful with Nike stocks hitting an all-time high, despite causing mass protests, CNN reported.
A Nike Ad featuring American football quarterback Colin Kaepernick is on diplay September 8, 2018 in New York City. – Nike’s new ad campaign featuring Kaepernick, the American football player turned activist against police violence, takes a strong stance on a divisive issue which could score points with millennials but risks alienating conservative customers. The ads prompted immediate calls for Nike boycotts over Kaepernick, who has been castigated by US President Donald Trump and other conservatives over his kneeling protests during the playing of the US national anthem. (Photo credit ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images)
Some Nike fans burned their tennis shoes, while College of the Ozarks dropped Nike.
“College of the Ozarks plans to remove all athletic uniforms purchased from Nike or that contain the Nike emblem. Student athletes will no longer wear the brand in response to the company’s new ad campaign,” the private school said in a statement at the time.
Kaepernick has not appeared in commercials for Nike since the ad aired, nor has the company sold any new products featuring his name.
