Colin Kaepernick’s ad with Nike won an Emmy

Professional and amateur athletes have used the anthem as an opportunity to protest

Colin Kaepernick’s protests during NFL games weren’t the first instances of athletes using the pregame tradition to make a political statement. This history walks through several similar instances, highlighting several lesser-known instances.

Kanye abruptly left Nike in 2013 and took his Air Yeezys to Adidas for $10M

In 2009, Kanye West became the first non-athlete Nike produced a signature shoe for. However, Kanye left Nike for the company’s rival, Adidas, just a few years later. Kanye said Nike was stifling his creative vision, and he felt like he wasn’t getting enough royalties.

Nike’s labor practices became controversial in the 1990s—leading to widespread protests of the brand

In the 1990s, Nike came under fire for its use of factories with unsafe working conditions and child labour to produce its products. While Nike didn’t own the manufacturing sites, many people felt Nike was ultimately responsible for using sweatshops in countries like Vietnam and Thailand.

Some found the Temu ‘Shop Like a Billionaire’ Super Bowl ads out of place in the Big Game

“It had no A-list celebrities or beloved cultural touchstones; not a single heartstring was tugged,” wrote one writer of the Temu ad that aired five times during the 2024 Super Bowl.

Nike’s slogan was inspired by a death row inmate’s last words

Advertising superstar Dan Wieden of legendary advertising agency Widen+Kennedy said he got inspiration for Nike’s “Just do it” from an inmate’s last words on death row. Wieden said the way the inmate talked about facing uncertainty inspired him.

Apple’s ‘1984’ ad won big at Cannes Lions

One of Cannes Lions’ most legendary winners, Apple’s “1984” ad was conceived by Chiat/Day and directed by Ridley Scott, fresh off his iconic film “Blade Runner.”

Nike couldn’t sign legendary distance runner Steve Prefontaine due to regulations

Because of amateur running regulations, Prefontaine—who held every American running record from 2,000 to 10,000 meters at the time—couldn’t do a paid endorsement for Nike. So Nike’s Phil Knight decided to give him a $5K yearly stipend and print business cards that said Prefontaine was the “National Director of Public Affairs.” When asked what that meant, Knight said, “it means he can run fast.”

Beat Generation iconoclast William S. Burroughs once appeared in a Nike ad

Following the rise of grunge in 1991, major corporations sought to capitalize on the changing cultural tide by using "authentic" voices to bolster their brands. One of them was Beat writer William S. Burroughs, known for his iconoclastic novels "Naked Lunch" and "Junky," who appeared in a 1994 Nike ad, singing the praises of "the coming of the new technology."

The controversial 'Peloton Wife' ad from 2019 cost the company more than $1B in market value

The 2019 ad of a man gifting his wife a Peloton exercise bike sparked a wave of controversy, with some calling the ad sexist and fatphobic. The ad's backlash decreased the company's market value by $1.6B.

NFL quarterback puts mayo in coffee, scores deal with Hellmann's

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis went viral when, as Kentucky's quarterback in 2022, he was captured on video using mayo in his coffee instead of cream. Now an NFL pro, Levis was offered a lifetime contract with the mayonnaise producer...

New rules introduced in 2021 let college athletes profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL)

The NCAA’s 2021 policy shift allowed athletes to earn money through endorsements, sponsorships, and personal branding—transforming the college sports landscape and changing the dynamic of what it means to be a student-athlete.

Silicon Valley’s reign over tech, money, and politics

Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and others are getting into politics. From Musk’s role in President Trump’s second term to Hoffman’s spending on former Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign, more tech CEOs are expanding into politics. This podcast episode by WBUR and American Public Media discusses what the impact could be with so many tech figures engaging in American politics. Listen here.

A dissenting take on the Lamar's Pulitzer win

Not everyone thought that Kendrick Lamar’s historic Pulitzer win was a good thing—even his own fans. Writer and hip-hop aficionado Ismail Muhammad lays out the case for why "DAMN" deserved the award, but the Pulitzers don’t deserve praise for giving it. Was the decision more about the organization’s image than the work itself? See if Muhammad’s argument convinces you.

Memes can turn regular people into unwitting celebrities

When Charles Ramsey heard loud banging from his neighbor's house, he peeked outside and saw a woman trying to escape. After helping the abducted woman get free, he gave an interview that became a viral autotuned meme. This podcast explores the unintended consequences of that relationship and its racial overtones.

Marlon Brando sent Apache and Yaqui actor and activist Sacheen Littlefeather to reject his Oscar

Each year at the Academy Awards, winners of the highest achievements in film give speeches expressing their gratitude, while also venturing into politics, humor, and emotion. Some speeches are met with boos, including Littlefeather's message from Brando refusing the award in protest of Hollywood’s treatment and portrayal of Native Americans in film. Others have remained memorable for their brevity, like Joe Pesci's six-word acceptance.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Ed Sabol's vision of NFL Films impacted how sports were filmed

When the NFL put out a bid to film the 1962 NFL Championship Game, Ed Sabol promised NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle his higher price tag would be worth it. Sabol’s style of fixed high shots, close-ups of players, and fans in the stands revolutionized how sporting events are filmed, influenced moviemakers like Ron Howard, and gave birth to NFL Films.

The story of the 1996 Women's Olympic Dream Team

The 1996 US Women’s Basketball Team went 60-0 on their gold medal run and is considered one of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled. The ESPN documentary “30 for 30: Dream On” examines the team’s 14-month journey, which changed the landscape of women’s sports. WNYC’s Alison Stewart interviews Director Kristen Lappas and Dream Team member Carla McGhee about their experience.

The Black Lives Matter movement coincided with the fall of the girlboss

It’s no coincidence that the white women who were seen as the faces of the girlboss movement (founders such as Audrey Gelman of The Wing and Christene Barberich of Refinery29, for instance) stepped away from their companies around the same time that America stepped into its era of racial reckoning with Black Lives Matter.

Budweiser temporarily changed its name to ‘America’ in 2016

In the run-up to the 2016 United States Presidential Election, Budweiser changed its name as part of a marketing campaign that ran from the end of May through the November election itself.

'Ted Lasso' began as a series of promotional videos

The series debuted on Apple TV+ in 2020, but it began in 2013 as a series of short comedy sketches created to promote NBC Sports' broadcasts of Premier League soccer matches.

The incredible story of Bishop Sycamore

Bishop Sycamore is facing scrutiny after its ugly loss in a nationally televised football game, but this is not new to many of the people involved.

Exclusionary ads can help win over customers, some marketers argue

Slogans like "if you don't like dark roast, this coffee isn't for you," also known as "dissuasive framing," can entice specific groups of customers, some marketers say. The shift comes from the perceived authenticity of a company admitting that a product is not perfect for everyone.

The most famous lines of the 'I Have a Dream' speech were improvised

Though largely scripted, Martin Luther King Jr. shifted off text mid-speech after gospel singer Mahalia Jackson called out, “Tell them about the dream, Martin,” prompting the improvised passage that became the most iconic moment of his public legacy.

The legacy of America's most remarkable kid

The short life and legacy of Kevin Cooper, a 14-year-old entrepreneur from Utah with big dreams for his family and rural America, and whose accomplishments most adults don’t pull off in a lifetime.

Roosevelt joined the NAACP and campaigned for anti-lynching laws—even receiving a $25K bounty from the KKK

Eleanor Roosevelt joined the NAACP board, lobbied for a federal anti-lynching law, and pushed to integrate the Army Nurse Corps—often going beyond the support her husband was willing to give to racial justice efforts. Her advocacy made her a target: The Ku Klux Klan placed a $25,000 bounty on her head.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages