👟 More fete for Nike Air Max

Courts will soon face a complicated question with ramifications for the internet as we know it: Who’s responsible for how social media affects young people?

Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and multiple school districts are suing platforms including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Meta.

The complaints? These platforms cause or exacerbate mental health issues among youth, and are intentionally designed to “exploit for profit.”

Bucks County DA Matthew Weintraub likened it to the opioid crisis, with “manufacturers and distributors causing havoc among young people in our communities.”

What do plaintiffs want?

For social media to change, and for companies to pay damages to fund mental health initiatives, a burden currently placed on parents and schools.

Case in point: Seattle and San Mateo County, California, school systems are suing several social media companies, with San Mateo County Superintendent Nancy Magee blaming them for distracted students, cyberbullying, and worse.

• Apparently, the “Devious Lick” challenge saw students stealing and vandalizing school property, especially in restrooms, before TikTok banned the hashtag.
• Schools have been locked down due to active shooter hoaxes that spread via social media.

More broadly…

… there’s been a push to hold social media companies accountable for what people do on, or because of, their platforms.

• Recent lawsuits have challenged Section 230, which protects website operators from liability for what users post or comment.

Companies have touted various safety features in response, but experts say some, like screen limits, are easy for teens to skirt.

The ultimate question is: Can platforms truly be held accountable and, if so, will hitting them in the pocketbook force them to change?

During Nike’s slam poetry event — excuse us — “earnings call” earlier this week, CEO John Donahoe referred to running as “the heart” of Nike, and basketball as “its soul.”

Unfortunately, he missed the opportunity to refer to Air Max as the company’s lungs, though he did describe the unit as a “multi-billion-dollar business in its own right,” growing double digits YoY.

Next week is a big one for the Nike brand, with Sunday marking one of the holiest days of the year for sneakerheads — Air Max Day — as well as the launch of the Pulse, Nike’s first Air Max shoe designed for Gen Z.

The history of Air Max…

… stretches all the way back to 1977, when NASA engineer Frank Rudy realized the inflatable inserts he was building for his wife’s ski boots had sneaker potential.

After a meeting with Nike CEO Phil Knight, who then took the inserts on a six-mile run, the duo struck a deal.

While Nike launched the tech with the Air Tailwind in 1978, it wasn’t until 1987, with architect Tinker Hatfield’s Pompidou-inspired Air Max 1s, that you could actually see the signature Air unit in the heel.

In recent years…

… Air Max has seen strong growth:

• In 2021, the top four bestselling athletic sneakers were Air-branded shoes, per NPD Group.
• Between 2016 and 2020, the market share of Air Max shoes on sneaker reselling platform StockX rose 800%; between 2019 and 2020, their average value on StockX appreciated 28%.

How ‘bout that for an inflation hedge?

BTW: If the words “Michael Jordan,” “cool sneakers,” and “on the big screen” pique your interest, you’re in luck on April 5.

In case you missed ‘em, here’s this week’s best…

• Tweet: How millennials feel describing to their Gen Z co-workers how they used to put on hard pants and go into the office every day.
• Blog: The last three years showed us how delicate the supply chain is (looking at you, toilet paper). Here’s how to optimize your supply chain risk management.
• Chart: Using powerful AI models at work was not on our “Things you’re hiding from your boss in 2023” bingo card, but here we are.
• Story: For years, the jock tax has flown under the radar. But whether you’re Steph Curry or a remote worker — it actually matters a lot. (Also, if you actually are Steph Curry and reading this, hello.)
• Video: Yellow circle, two dots, curvy smile — chances are you’ve seen this imagery thousands of times. The smiley face is a $500m/yr. business, and we made a video about it.