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N I K E   S H O E S  

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Nike now lets you personalize your shoes by submitting a word or 
phrase which they will stitch onto your shoes, under the swoosh. 
So Jonah Peretti filled out the form and sent them $50 to 
stitch "SWEATSHOP" onto his shoes.
 
Here's the responses he got... let the fun and games with Nike begin...
 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
   
Subject:	RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
 
Your NIKE iD order was cancelled for one or more of the following
reasons:
 
1) Your Personal iD contains another party's trademark or other
intellectual property
2) Your Personal iD contains the name of an athlete or team we do 
not have the legal right to use
3) Your Personal iD was left blank. Did you not want any
personalization?
4) Your Personal iD contains profanity or inappropriate slang, and
besides, your mother would slap us.
 
If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new personalization
please visit us again at http://www.nike.com/

Thank you,

NIKE iD
 


From:  	  	  "Jonah H. Peretti"
To:	   		  "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com
Subject:	  RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
 
Greetings,
My order was canceled but my personal NIKE iD does not violate 
any of the criteria outlined in your message. The Personal iD on 
my custom ZOOM XC USA running shoes was the word "sweatshop."

Sweatshop is not:
  1) another's party's trademark,
  2) the name of an athlete,
  3) blank, or
  4) profanity.

I choose the iD because I wanted to remember the toil and labor 
of the children that made my shoes. Could you please ship them 
to me immediately.

Thanks and Happy New Year,

Jonah Peretti



From:		 "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com
To:			 "'Jonah H. Peretti'"
Subject:	 RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
 
Dear NIKE iD Customer,
Your NIKE iD order was cancelled because the iD you have chosen
contains, as stated in the previous e-mail correspondence,
"inappropriate slang". If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD 
product with a new personalization please visit us again at 
nike.com

Thank you,

NIKE iD



From:  	  	 "Jonah H. Peretti"
To:			 "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com
Subject:	 RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
 
Dear NIKE iD,
Thank you for your quick response to my inquiry about my custom 
ZOOM XC USA running shoes. Although I commend you for your prompt 
customer service, I disagree with the claim that my personal iD 
was inappropriate slang. After consulting Webster's Dictionary, 
I discovered that "sweatshop" is in fact part of standard 
English, and not slang. The word means: "a shop or factory in 
which workers are employed for long hours at low wages and under 
unhealthy conditions" and its origin dates from 1892. So my 
personal iD does meet the criteria detailed in your first email.
 
Your web site advertises that the NIKE iD program is "about 
freedom to choose and freedom to express who you are." I share 
Nike's love of freedom and personal expression. The site also 
says that "If you want it done right...build it yourself." I was 
thrilled to be able to build my own shoes, and my personal iD was 
offered as a small token of appreciation for the sweatshop 
workers poised to help me realize my vision. I hope that you 
will value my freedom of expression and reconsider your decision 
to reject my order.
 
Thank you,

Jonah Peretti



From: 		 "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com
To:			 "'Jonah H. Peretti'"
Subject:	 RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
 
Dear NIKE iD Customer,
Regarding the rules for personalization it also states on the 
NIKE iD web site that "Nike reserves the right to cancel any 
personal iD up to 24 hours after it has been submitted". In 
addition, it further explains: "While we honor most personal iDs, 
we cannot honor every one. Some may be (or contain) other's 
trademarks, or the names of certain professional sports teams, 
athletes or celebrities that Nike does not have the right to use. 
Others may contain material that we consider inappropriate or 
simply do not want to place on our products. 
Unfortunately, at times this obliges us to decline personal iDs 
that may otherwise seem unobjectionable. In any event, we will 
let you know if we decline your personal iD, and we will offer 
you the chance to submit another." With these rules in mind, we 
cannot accept your order as submitted. If you wish to reorder 
your NIKE iD product with a new personalization please visit us 
again at http://www.nike.com

Thank you,

NIKE iD
 


From:  	  "Jonah H. Peretti"
To:		  "Personalize, NIKE iD" <nikeid_personalize@nike.com
Subject:  RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
 
Dear NIKE iD,
Thank you for the time and energy you have spent on my request. 
I have decided to order the shoes with a different iD, but I 
would like to make one small request. Could you please send me a 
color snapshot of the ten-year-old Vietnamese girl who makes my 
shoes?

Thanks,
Jonah Peretti
 


<no response
 
 
... this will now go round the world much farther and faster than 
any of the adverts they paid Michael Jordan more than the entire 
wage packet of all their sweatshop workers in the world to do...
I normally avoid making a plea to pass on these things, but this 
time I say: JUST DO IT!