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Many people have taken issue with @Nike's use of the phrase "sacrificing everything" with Colin Kaepernick's face, when others have made greater (or different) sacrifices for what they believe. I can understand that initial gut reaction.
But here's the thing:
But here's the thing:
"Sacrificing everything" is a fairly common figure of speech and rarely means literally sacrificing everything. It's almost always used figuratively in some kind of context, signifying giving up something major in exchange for something more important.
Nike is an athletic brand. Becoming an NFL QB takes an enormous amount of dedication and effort. So in the context of an athletic brand's marketing campaign highlighting an athlete who lost **everything he'd worked his lifetime toward as an athlete,** the phrase makes sense.
In addition, it's widely understood that the words of slogans and taglines aren't meant to be taken literally. "Red Bull gives you wiiiiings" doesn't mean drinking it will make you actually fly. Debeers' "Diamonds are forever" doesn't mean their diamonds can prevent divorce.
We are clearly capable of understanding figurative language and context, especially in the marketing world. Considering that fact, freaking out over the semantics of this Nike #JustDoIt campaign seems silly at best and disingenuous at worst.
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