From "Circa", 3 Nov 2003

Nike no like
Some companies just have no sense of humour...

by Rossella Regina

So what's Nike Ground? It is a project by the European group of media artists 0100101110101101.ORG and the Viennese net-culture centre Public Netbase. The project, which began in mid-September, consists of an advertising campaign claiming that Nike will be buying streets and squares in major world capitals in order to rename them and install enormous monuments inspired by Nike's famous logo, the swoosh.

The art project also included the installation of huge, hi-tech containers where people could receive more information about the project itself. The first square to host one of these gigantic boxes was Karlsplatz, one of the historic squares of Vienna. Inside, a 3D digital planimetry showed a 36 x 18 m sculpture shaped into a swoosh and made up of a special steel alloy entirely covered by a red resin, obtained by reclycling Nike shoe soles.

Austrian citizens didn't care too much for the idea of selling their square to a multinational without being at least consulted. Austrian local and national newspapers received hundreds of complaining letters. Both the Council of Vienna and Nike denied responsibility for Nike Ground. After 0100101110101101.org claimed paternity of the project, Nike demanded they remove every single reference to its trademark, threatening to ask for 78.000 euro in damages.

Last week a commercial court in Vienna rejected Nike's plea for a provisional injunction on formal grounds, so the container was able to remain on Karlsplatz until 28 October, date of the planned takedown. No-one seems sure what the next step will be.

Meanwhile, visit Nike Ground. It's a beautiflly designed spoof site.