For my civic artifact of choice, Nike’s ad campaign with Colin Kaepernick, kairos is virtually inseparable from the artifact’s rhetorical meaning. One could go as far as to say that if the ad was released at any other time, the ad would be almost devoid of meaning.
Nike timed the release of the ad perfectly. The political climate was tense, with Donald Trump’s presidency and political policies coming under fire from both citizens and the media. Gun control activism and the Black Rights Matter movement were at their peaks. Police brutality was all over the news and widely recognized as a national crisis. Amidst all of this, San Francisco 49s quarterback Colin Kaepernick was spearheading his own movement against police brutality, kneeling during the national anthem of every football game. This spread throughout the league, forcing the NFL and all of its supporters to listen. Kaepernick now had a target on his back, and quickly became one of the most hated men in America. When the ad released on September 5,2018, the entire world took notice.
The ad itself had to appeal to a number of different audiences. First and foremost, it had to appeal to Colin Kaepernick and his own beliefs and values. Secondly, the ad had to be embraced by the general public, so it had to pander to their morals and values. In Nike’s case, they had to make sure that the business world would not be displeased with the campaign, as they are ultimately seeking to make profit. Having to please all of these audiences would be difficult, especially when Nike was working with one of the most polarizing athletes in the country. And yet, Nike went through with the campaign, making the debate about police brutality front-page news through the attention that the ad received. Kairos was implemented in precisely the right way, using the social and political turmoil to publicize the message of the campaign.