“Call Me by Your Brand Image”: Assessing How the Satan Shoes Scandal Affected Nike’s Brand Image

Prior research has extensively examined how firms leverage social media to restore brand image during severe crises, yet limited research has evaluated the impact of social media in addressing trivial forms of crises, such as the spread of rumors or misinformation. Drawing upon the situational crisis communication theory (SCCT), this study addresses the research gap by examining the impact of unofficial brand collaborations on brand image and the efficacy of approaches in restoring reputation. This study is premised upon Nike’s Satan Shoes scandal, whereby musician Lil Nas X and the art collective MSCHF released “Satan Shoes,” bespoke Nike sneakers, without permission from Nike. This study investigates whether Nike’s crisis response successfully rehabilitated its brand image after the controversy and the role Twitter had in this regard. Sentiment analysis of 160,188 tweets related to Nike’s Satan Shoes scandal revealed that the Satan Shoes controversy had a negative impact on Nike’s brand image. Congruent with the SCCT, this study argues positioning the company as a victim is an effective response strategy for rumors. Furthermore, this study suggests firms may effectively communicate through news sources and allow news to be distributed via Twitter as secondary messages in the crisis of rumor spreading.