Julian Wilson is, in most professional opinions, the future of surfing. He's only 22, but he is the talk of the town and is being prepped to become the next big thing. He will begin his rookie season on the ASP World Tour this weekend, and is said to be a serious contender for the World Title.
But Julian come under some fire in January when he switched from his longtime sponsor, Quiksilver, to Nike 6.0. Quiksilver was his first sponsor at the age of 13, and Julian never showed any inclinations of changing their relationship. So when he suddenly left Quiksilver to join the Nike 6.0 team, many people were left scratching their heads. He was also accused of being a sell-out, and only being interested in the money. So Julian and Nike 6.0 made a teaser trailer which parallels the Lebron James 'Rise' ad.
By using the same phrases, such as "What should I do?" and "I'm not a role model," Julian and Lebron are both standing up to their criticism. They are acknowledging that people think badly of them, and they are trying to get a response from them, as if to say, "Well since you don't like what I'm doing, do you have any better ideas?"
Companies often use commercials to save face. Nike is a great example with Lebron, Julian, and probably most famously, Tiger Woods. Other companies that have used ad time to issue apologies have been BP after the Guld of Mexico oil spill, and Toyota following their mass brake failures. More and more companies are using commercials not to sell a product, but to admit to their audience that they are trying their hardest to make things better. It is not only about what they are selling, but about the attitude of the company. If they people can get behind the companies moral standards, they will be more likely to buy the product.
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