WHAT SHOULD I DO? SHOULD I BE WHO YOU WANT ME TO BE?

Coinciding with NBA’s opening night, Nike is set to launch its new TV spot tonight during the TNT broadcast.

Titled “Rise,” some are calling it LeBron James’ answer to critics, but let’s call it what it is.

It’s Nike at its best.

It’s a fantastic piece of creative to pull back in customers who were so mad at LeBron (my son, included) that they saw him as a turncoat. Some burned his jerseys. Others tossed out his memorabilia with the garbage. He didn’t get a lot of support for his move to Miami.

Right, wrong, or indifferent, when LeBron James left the Cavs for the Heat, he didn’t just impact “LeBron James – The Brand,” he impacted every other brand that “LeBron James – The Man” represented.

That included Nike on a multi-million dollar scale.

Is this LeBron answering critics? No. It’s really, really, really, really expensive damage control and customer retention…and it’s really well done.

It’s also an example to brands everywhere that redemption is (almost always) possible – no matter how much your pitchman or woman messes up.

Taft Matney is a partner with TM Public Relations, a strategic communications and governmental affairs firm in Greenville, SC. Follow him on Twitter (http://twitter.com/taftmatney) and "like" TMPR on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TMPRGA).

This op-ed may be reprinted/reposted in whole or in part upon written notification to taft@taftmatney.com.