Irrationality is Kanye West’s business. “I dreamed I could buy my way to heaven/but when I woke up I blew it all on a necklace,” he rapped 15 years ago in the song Das Can’t tell me nothing means you have nothing to say to me. The image of the rapper and producer, now officially called “Ye”, has always been that of the uncontrollable genius, the hyper-individualist, the weirdo who never conformed and yet made it to the top.
That’s how Chicago’s Kanye West became one of the biggest human brands in the world, and it’s now collided with another big brand in a nasty way. Adidas has ended its lucrative partnership with West, and rightly so. Because West turned out to be an anti-Semite, again and again he made disparaging remarks about Jewish people and served conspiracy theories. With a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt, he sent signals to the racist Trump camp, signals in the American culture war, which Adidas has now also got caught up in. Forgoing a three-digit million amount this year was the only logical solution for the group to save face and share price at least to some extent. This is logical, especially for a company from Germany whose factory produced weapons for the Nazi state during the war.
Adidas would have loved to sell more “Yeezy” sneakers co-designed by West. One global brand benefited from the other. It was a win-win situation, now it’s a disaster for everyone involved. The case shows how increasing political polarization can plunge companies into moral crises, even across the ocean.
The decision-makers at Adidas have miscalculated. They thought they had the stronger brand and could therefore also write the rules. They underestimated that Kanye West has his own agenda and doesn’t just smile and hold up a pair of Adidas shoes for the cameras like Lionel Messi does.
The case represents a power shift in the advertising world
As long as West was just eccentric and provocative, not only did Adidas like to adorn themselves with him, fashion brands like Balenciaga and Gap did too. Now it has become obvious: Not even business interests can withstand the centrifugal forces of radicalization. German companies must also be prepared to be involved more often in the fights over (anti-)racism and gender roles. You will have to take a stand in more and more cases. They should not overreact to every shitstorm. But that is to be feared, after all no manager wants to find himself in the situation of the Adidas bosses.
For one thing, the case is a reminder that hatred of Jews isn’t just a poison for the unsuccessful. On the other hand, he stands for a power shift in the advertising world. West has become one of those global personal brands that are obviously too good at just playing “brand ambassador” for a corporation and barging a few designers in their work. On the one hand, this is because fashion is only one mainstay of merchandise professionals like Kanye West. He can also do without Adidas or Nike. Influencers like him have long since formed their own bubble economy. They communicate with their fans on their own via social networks, actually a step forward compared to the age in which they were shielded by their agents. But when the ego entrepreneurs are vulnerable like West, some of them become radicalized in the frenzy of disinformation, cheering on their fans and imaginary rebellion against their critics. This was the case with Tesla boss Elon Musk as well as with Donald Trump – another one who, like West, has declared himself a genius.
In the song Can’t tell me nothing West also raps about his success: “I feel the pressure, more and more scrutinizing looks, what am I doing? I’m acting even more stupid.” So dumb that he’s currently not only ruining his life’s work as a one-of-a-kind producer and rapper, but also demonstrating how risky it is to commit to someone like him. When ego brands like West turn hollow, a global corporation like Adidas turns with them.