> 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"  on to his shoes.
>
> Here's the response he got...
>
> ***
>
> From: "Personalize, NIKE iD"  nikeid_personalize@nike.com
> To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'"  peretti@media.mit.edu
> Subject: RE: Your NIKE  iD order o16468000
>
> Your NIKE iD order was canceled 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, and
> besides, your mother would slap us.
>
> If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new
> personalization please visit us again at www.nike.com
>
> Thank you, NIKE iD
>
> ***
>
> From: "Jonah H. Peretti"  peretti@media.mit.edu
> To: "Personalize, NIKE iD"  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
> he 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
> To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'"  peretti@media.mit.edu
> Subject: RE: Your NIKE  iD order o16468000
>
> Dear NIKE iD Customer,
>
> Your NIKE iD order was canceled 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 nike.com
>
> Thank you, NIKE iD
>
> ***
>
> From: "Jonah H. Peretti"  peretti@media.mit.edu
> To: "Personalize, NIKE iD"  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
> To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'"  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) other's 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
>
> Thank you, NIKE iD
>
> ***
>
> From: "Jonah H. Peretti"  peretti@media.mit.edu
> To: "Personalize, NIKE iD"  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
>
> ***
>
> Note from an anonymous forwarder. If you're wondering whether to keep
> the chain going...
>
> JUST DO IT!
>
>
>
>
>