The Blog DoggerNike’s viral video is a fake—so what?

Bloggers question the ethics of Nike’s phony (but amusing) Kobe Bryant Web video, plus encyclopedias bite back

Drop this in the “New media duped us … sort of” file.

Nike created a Web video of NBA star Kobe Bryant jumping over an Aston Martin as it sped towards him. The video has garnered over 2.5 million views in its various incarnations, reports PR blogger Peter Himler, of The Flack.

It also attracted a flood of questions; people wanted to know if Kobe really pulled off this amazing feat. After watching the video on YouTube, one grammatically challenged viewer wrote: “look at the shadows. this is NOT fake. this is legittt. kobe = mesiah. kobe is MVP fo lifeeee.”

That comment and many like it sparked a long debate about the video’s authenticity, which has since touched off an ethical discussion: If it is fake should Nike have indicated that? After all, it doesn’t want kids trying to jump over oncoming cars.