Nike: Doing the right thing is never a bad idea

Colin Kaepernick

Colin Kaepernick showed incredible courage and audacity to speak out against police brutality toward African-Americans when he took a knee during the national anthem two years ago while a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Others in the National Football League followed his lead. Sadly, it cost him his job as an NFL quarterback. He’s been blacklisted by league owners thanks to his silent-but-peaceful actions.

As an activist, Kaepernick’s is a respectful dialogue and one that refuses to lower himself to the low level of unrestrained invective shown by President Trump. His is an approach to dissent and public debate that is the antithesis of the president’s persistent bullying of black professional athletes, whom he is determined to punish for their outspokenness. Showing restraint and civility are not a strong suit of this sitting president.

Last week, in a simple, straightforward image of a black and white photograph of Kaepernick, with his mouth set and his eyes staring straight into the camera, the message “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” spoke great volumes, as Nike’s 30th anniversary campaign for its iconic “Just Do It” slogan was revealed to much fanfare – and plenty of criticism.

In its first day, according to an MIT Sloan School of Management study, the Kaepernick Nike advertisement generated more than $43 million in media exposure.

“It’s hall-of-fame-level type advertising,” said MIT Sloan senior lecturer and research scientist Renée Gosline, whose research has focused on brand strength and social media storytelling. “Not to mention the signal it sends given the current climate.”

While some have protested the use of Kaepernick as the face of the famous American shoe and athletic apparel company, Nike’s sales have soared. Nike knew what it was doing – and its pockets are deep enough to withstand any short-term fallout.

As part of its “Just Do It” campaign, Nike also debuted a two-minute TV commercial, “Dream Crazy,” narrated by Kaepernick (who makes a cameo appearance), during the premiere of “NFL Thursday Night Football” last week. Within 24 hours, it had more than 5 million views on YouTube.

I applaud Kaepernick’s convictions. His courage will help move our world forward. I hope others will follow his lead and do the right thing.

One thing’s certain, doing the right thing – and to dream crazy – is never a bad idea.

Photo: Courtesy of Nike.com
Video: Courtesy of YouTube
Learn more about the MIT Sloan Management study: http://mitsloan.mit.edu/newsroom/articles/in-kaepernick-ads-nike-further-develops-its-brand-point-of-view/

The 2018 French Open: Creating beautiful poster art through capturing the simple bounce of a tennis ball

Roland Garros and modern art have enjoyed a long, steady and tasteful relationship. It's a very French thing. In a sport where a player's instinct and spontaneous movement creates beautiful art out of work during every rally – especially on a terre battue canvas – the annual French Open poster is seen as a colorful and fascinating part of the Roland Garros experience. 

Each year since 1980, the grounds at Roland Garros in the 16th arrondissement of Paris have displayed bright and imaginative posters that truly embody the spirit and excitement of the French Open. After all, if tennis is seen as art – and why not? – then, its athletes are truly artists who have traded paint brushes for tennis rackets.

In an earlier era, Les Quatre Mousquetaires (Jacques Brugnon, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and René Lacoste) were prestigious French tennis players who dominated the sport in the second half of the 1920s and early '30s and were known for their dashing grace and athleticism. They became national icons in France – their success in winning the 1927 Davis Cup against the United States helped lead to the building of the Roland Garros venue at Porte d'Auteuil – and the French Open men's championship trophy was named the Coupe des Mousquetaires in honor of the quartet. 

Today, one need only think of World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, the undisputed king of clay, whose Picasso-like artistry as he glides across Court Philippe Chatrier – brushing his racquet against a tennis ball – is truly a bold and dynamic thing to admire. He's won 10 French Open singles titles, most of any athlete – male or female – which has endeared him to the French and tennis fans worldwide.

The quintessential Björn Borg's hair
as captured by Eduardo Arroyo in 1981.

Among the artists who have created French Open poster art since its inception are: Eduardo Arroyo, whose 1981 Pop Art image of Björn Borg's hair captured a quintessential quality of 1980s tennis; Joan Miró, one the most prominent influences on the development of both Surrealism and 20th-century art, who created the 1991 poster; documentary filmmaker and painter Jean-Michel Meurice, whose 1996 poster was inspired by the red clay and white lines of the Roland Garros courts; jazz drummer and composer Daniel Humair, who conveyed a musical rhythm to capture the pulse of the French Open in his 2004 poster; and Du Zhenjun, who in 2015 became the first Chinese artist selected to design a French Open poster. His training in traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy is reflected in his work.

Jazz drummer and composer Daniel Humair
conveyed a musical rhythm to capture
the pulse of the French Open in 2004.

For this year's French Open, Paris-born Fabienne Verdier was commissioned to create the poster for the 2018 tournament, which begins Sunday. Born in 1962, Verdier is the fourth woman selected to design the official Roland Garros poster, following in the footsteps of Jane Hammond (2003), Kate Shepherd (2007) and Nalini Malani (2010). She's also the first French artist, too. 

"For me, Roland Garros evokes those first warm days that herald the arrival of summer in Paris, when the intense light of May and June makes the ochre day sparkle," said Verdier, in an interview recently posted on French Open website rolandgarros.com. "As the sun races across the sky, the courts turn from amber to tobacco, from saffron to sepia, from ochre to red, from sienna to brown. During every rally, the balls collect this multicolored dust and, like comets, leave enchanting lines of energy in their wake."

In creating the 2018 French Open poster, Verdier chose to focus on the simple bounce of a tennis ball. In a split-second moment, she perfectly captures "that moment of truth in which the ball, after hitting the clay, sets off on one of many possible trajectories. The ball's movement gives off incredible energy."

Verdier describes her abstract impression this way: "I tried to portray the lightning speed of the player's movements. The energy that they transmit to the ball in a movement full of spontaneity, vitality, power, precision and slide. And I imagined one of those unexpected bounces that take the opponent by surprise and force them, in the following rally, to surpass themselves once again in order to get one step closer to victory in Paris."

To view the entire collection of French Open art posters: www.rolandgarros.com
Fabienne Verdier video courtesy of YouTube.com
French Open poster art courtesy of www.rolandgarros.com

New Deal Era murals depict a simpler county life

The Hyattsville Post Office, in Prince George's County, Maryland, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On most days, hundreds of people come and go by the post office, depositing their stamped, outgoing letter mail in one of four sturdy, blue U.S. Mail boxes that flank both sides of the post office's front staircase. Then, they disappear just as quickly, going about their daily business, perhaps ducking into Vigilante Coffee around the corner for an espresso drink or a croissant.

However, it's worth slowing down for a just a moment – or three – to go inside the interior of this north-facing, rectangular Colonial Revival building that was constructed during FDR's New Deal Era and discover the rest of the story behind this remarkable, one-story brick structure located at 4325 Gallatin Street. To do so is like stepping back in time into a simpler era of county life during a different century.

One look around the Hyattsville Post Office lobby reveals six murals created by the American Regionalist artist Eugene Kingman (1909-1975), whose en plein style depicts the agricultural heritage of Prince George's Country situated in Maryland's 5th Congressional District bordering northeast Washington, D.C. A cornstalk stripe below each mural ties their composition together.

A large wall plaque dated 1935 honors the beginning of the Hyattsville Post Office building, which was erected "under the acts of Congress of May 25, 1926 and June 19, 1934 and was completed during the administration of Frank D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America."

In researching the history of both the Hyattsville Post Office and Kingman's murals, I learned that they consist of vignettes depicting county life during the New Deal Era of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-37). Among the images are: horses grazing behind a fence, a rural church, frame structures along water with masts of sailboats visible in the distance, and ploughed fields. Several of these murals also reveal the appearance of rural delivery mail boxes in the foreground.

During the New Deal Era, Kingman, a native of Rhode Island, received commissions to create murals for two other U.S. post offices besides Hyattsville. His murals are still on display in post offices in East Providence, Rhode Island, and in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

It should be noted that credit for the architectural quality of the Hyattsville Post Office goes to Fourth Assistant Postmaster General Smith W. Purdum, who was a Hyattsville resident and lived nearby. Purdum spearheaded the engineering and research of the post office building and devoted great attention to its construction as well as to the design and execution of the murals.

Just after 8 o'clock one recent morning, as I stepped inside the Hyattsville Post Office to check my P.O. box for incoming mail – I was the only person inside the building's lobby before the post office windows opened for business at 9 a.m. – I looked around and marveled at both the beauty and artistry of this place and its murals. I tried to imagine what it must have been like when mailing a first-class letter cost just three cents. One thing that I find impressive today is the lobby has retained a remarkable degree of integrity. It has an old-fashioned look and feel, yet it also serves the residents of Hyattsville and the general public who also use it very efficiently.

(Learn more about the architectural detail of the Hyattsville Post Office here.)

Photos: Mural photos by Michael Dickens © 2017. Hyattsville Post Office photo courtesy of Google images.

Clothes with value that suit your values, too

Elements of Style: Uniqlo /
Making clothes that transcend all categories and social groups.

Uniqlo is the elements of style.

Uniqlo is a toolbox for living.

Uniqlo is clothes that suit your values.

Uniqlo is how the future dresses.

Uniqlo is beauty in hyperpracticality.

Uniqlo is clothing in the absolute.

Uniqlo is made for all.

Can clothing change the world? Uniqlo, the Japanese brand that has been taking San Francisco by storm, not only believes it can. It already is doing it. 

Uniqlo's brand philosophy is simple: It doesn't matter who you are or where you live. "Uniqlo makes clothes that transcend all categories and social groups," says the global clothing retailer on its website. "Our clothes are made for all, going beyond age, gender, occupation, ethnicity, and all other ways that define people. Our clothes are simple and essential yet universal, so people can freely combine them in their own unique way."

Novak Djokovic /
Serbian world-class tennis player,
who has partnered with Uniqlo.

In May, Uniqlo made a big splash in the sporting world when it signed Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men's tennis player in the world, to a five-year apparel contract. Djokovic debuted his new Uniqlo red, white and blue kit at the French Open in Paris. On Monday, when he won the ATP World Tour championship in London, Djokovic sported a brand new black kit that made its debut during the tournament. During his post-match news conference, he wore a jazzy, red ultra-light down vest jacket.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, I experienced Uniqlo for the first time when I visited the brand's newly-opened West Coast flagship Uniqlo Store located just off Union Square in downtown San Francisco. Upon entering the 29,000 square-foot, three-story clothing emporium (located at 111 Powell Street in the former DSW store), the colorfully-lit and vibrant atmosphere made an immediate impact upon me. So did the 91 rotating mannequins showing off Uniqlo's latest apparel, such as ultra-light down jackets in a variety of colors, as well as the 77 LCD screens that lined the perimeter of the store and seven large-screen wall monitors showing off the company's marketing campaigns.

"When people first walk in, we want to shock them with the colors and the variety," Yasunobu Kyogoku, Uniqlo's chief operating officer for the United States, told the San Francisco Business Times on the eve of the San Francisco Uniqlo's October 5 grand opening.

Uniqlo's brand logo.

Uniqlo likes to think big and the company is driven by innovation. In just 10 years, half of Japan's population is relying on Uniqlo's Heattech technology to make dressing in winter "as fun and flexible as in any other season." In fact, 80 percent of the population of Japan live within 20 minutes of a Uniqlo store, the first which opened in 1984 in Hiroshima. There are 847 Uniqlo locations in Japan alone. I appreciate that Uniqlo has an eye toward social responsibility, too, by recycling millions of pieces of clothing for the needy, supporting small businesses through microcredit and working to restore Japan's Seto Inland Sea. They're a business with a soul.

Worldwide, Uniqlo has 1,132 stores in 13 markets, including: Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Moscow, Paris, London and New York City. Here in San Francisco, Uniqlo's high-quality, affordable fashion merchandise will compete with nearby H & M and Gap for the young, hipster urbanite retail dollar in the upcoming holiday shopping season.

I had a blast visiting Uniqlo, and the store's modern and hip design, filled with bright lights, technological gadgetry and pulsating music, gave off a cool vibe that reminded me of being inside a discotheque. It definitely put me in a mood for shopping and, impulsively, I bought a stylish but affordable ($19.90), zip-up navy blue fleece jacket that was on sale and can be worn in San Francisco's moderate climate almost year-round. Added up, the phenomenon that is Uniqlo, from the colorful displays to the courteous and eager customer service to the idea of a company that wants to make our lives better through clothing, made shopping fun, again.

Indeed, clothing can change the world.

Photograph inside San Francisco Uniqlo store by Michael Dickens, copyright 2012.
Photograph of Novak Djokovic courtesy of Getty Images and ATP World Tour Facebook page.

Two wheels good: Citius, Altius, Fortius?

Two wheels good / A simple two-wheeler is the bicycle of choice
 for residents navigating the narrow streets and canals of Amsterdam.

With the London Summer Games just days away, it is with great interest that I read of the triumph of Bradley Wiggins, the first British winner in the storied history of the Tour de France.

Cycling's premier event finished its annual, three-week endurance trek Sunday afternoon under bright, sunny skies along the famous cobble-stoned Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

The Tour has become controversial in recent years due to doping allegations against seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong as well as the suspected and apparent use of performance-enhancing drugs in more recent years that has seen two champions ~ Floyd Landis and Alberto Contador ~ stripped of their titles. In fact, until this year, only two Tour de France champions since 1995 ~ Carlos Saestre in 1998 and Cadel Evans last year ~ have not become embroiled in controversy surrounding performance-enhancing drugs. Thus, it was very refreshing to see Wiggins, 32, vehemently deny that he was doping during this year's Tour.

Looking good in yellow /
Bradley Wiggins rides into Paris.

Wiggins won the Tour de France the old-fashioned way:

He e-a-r-n-e-d it.

Which brings us to the subject of the London Summer Games. The Olympic motto is the hendiatrus Citius, Altius, Fortius, which is Latin for "Faster, Stronger, Higher". The motto was introduced for the Paris Summer Games in 1924. Fast forward more than eight decades and, certainly, today's athletes, for better or worse, emulate the Olympic motto. They run faster, they are certainly of stronger build than ever before, and athletes definitely can leap higher, too.

But is it really necessary? Is it worth paying this price?

Through the looking glass /
Cyclists enjoy their ride
along Binnenamstel
 canal in Amsterdam.

Just for a moment, imagine this: Picture a modern-day Tour de France being contested using a simple, two-wheeler like those that are refreshingly commonplace in cities like Amsterdam, the Dutch capital of the Netherlands. Sure, it might take more than the currently-alloted three weeks to complete the Tour, but who cares? And, ask yourself, too: How would a modern-day Tour cyclist handle the demanding climbs of both the Alps or Pyrenees mountains riding a simple two-wheeler?
The answer is simple:
It wouldn't be easy. Yet, it sure would be pure sports.

Citius, Altius, Fortius?

Let the London Summer Games begin.

Amsterdam photographs by Michael Dickens, copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
Photograph of Bradley Wiggins courtesy of The Guardian.