National Congress of American Indians President Brian Cladoosby sports a "Rethink" t-shirt. Photo from NCAI
Nearly a year ago the National Congress of American Indians posted on YouTube the ad that could not afford to run: Proud to Be. The ad went viral earning nearly 3.3 million views. This was a classic “viral” effort to change the name of the Washington NFL franchise. People watched the ad, liked it, shared it on Facebook, posted links on Twitter, and supporters later paid for advertising during the NBA playoffs and finals.
National Congress of American Indians: Proud to Be
Now the question is: Will a viral campaign pay for a real Superbowl ad? This time around NCAI is promoting a crowd-funding campaign asking for money to do just that — buy a Superbowl ad — and as a bonus offering t-shirts for those who contribute $30 or $60. The shirts say “Replace,” Rethink,” or “Rename” in the colors of the DC NFL Team. NCAI says contributions are tax deductible and the crowdfunding deadline is December 21. The link to the kickstarter campaign is here: kck.st/1v4dhYS Will this campaign work? Yes — if people in Indian Country and our friends make sure this message goes viral. Liking, sharing, tweeting and passing along the information so that people across the country can pay for Superbowl time. One way to do that is to get the shirt and post it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or anywghere on your favorite social media space. Mark Trahant holds the Atwood Chair at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He is an independent journalist and a member of The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. For up-to-the-minute posts, download the free Trahant Reports app for your smart phone or tablet.
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