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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.. fun and games with nike...

From: "Personalize, NIKE iD" < nikeid_personalize@nike.com
<mailto:nikeid_personalize@nike.com>>
To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'" < peretti@media.mit.edu
<mailto:peretti@media.mit.edu>>
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.

If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new
personalization please visit us again at www.nike.com <http://www.nike.com>
Thank you, NIKE iD

From: "Jonah H. Peretti" < peretti@media.mit.edu
<mailto:peretti@media.mit.edu>>
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" < nikeid_personalize@nike.com
<mailto: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
<mailto:nikeid_personalize@nike.com>>
To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'" < peretti@media.mit.edu
<mailto:peretti@media.mit.edu>>
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 www.nike.com
<http://www.nike.com>
Thank you, NIKE iD

From: "Jonah H. Peretti" < peretti@media.mit.edu
<mailto:peretti@media.mit.edu>>
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" < nikeid_personalize@nike.com
<mailto: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
<mailto:nikeid_personalize@nike.com>>
To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'" < peretti@media.mit.edu
<mailto:peretti@media.mit.edu>>
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) others
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 www.nike.com <http://www.nike.com>

Thank you, NIKE iD


From: "Jonah H. Peretti" < peretti@media.mit.edu
<mailto:peretti@media.mit.edu>>
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" < nikeid_personalize@nike.com
<mailto: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>


As one forwarder writes:
... 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...

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