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Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery. Nike, however, was not impressed Jan. 25 when NBC ran a sitcom promo during the Super Bowl spoofing the athletic shoe maker’s new “I can” campaign.
Executives at the Beaverton, Ore.-based client–which itself ran a 60-second spot during the game–called NBC to complain about the parody, and asked the network to stop running it, Nike officials confirmed.
NBC agreed to pull the 30-second spot and two 20-second lifts from future use out of “courtesy,” according to a network representative in Burbank, Calif.
“[Nike was] cordial and friendly about it,” said NBC’s Pat Schultz.
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