Nike Campaign Featuring Colin Kaepernick Added $6 Billion to Company’s Market Value

Nike’s controversial ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick did not go as Kaepernick haters expected: By any measure, it was a huge success.

We knew Nike’s stocks were booming, but CBS is specific with a report that company shares rose by 36 percent, “making the company the top performer on the Dow’s index of 30 blue-chip stocks.” Five percent of the increase has come since the athletic wear giant announced the ex-QB’s involvement.

Things aren’t going downhill yet, either, according to CBS:

The stock continues to hover near an all-time high, which it reached in mid-September only weeks after some Nike customers publicly burned their shoes to express their displeasure at the new ad.

In afternoon trading Nike shares were up slightly to $85.67.

For Nike, the boost eases concerns about the decision to link its brand to the controversial Kaepernick, who in 2016 started kneeling during the national anthem before games to protest racial injustice. 

Nike took a calculated risk, given that so much politically-tinged discussion has taken place around Kaepernick’s protests. But the company relied on knowledge of its user base, which is younger and not all that politically conservative. 

Everything is coming up Kaepernick in general. He reportedly makes millions from his Nike endorsements, and recently his attorney hinted that his client might have a chance to head back to the NFL.

That said, things get complicated when you know Nike employees contribute a great deal more money to Republicans than to Democrats

Nike execs definitely believe in something. 

The Volkswagen ID Buzz Cargo Is a Commercial Electric Version of Your Hippie Uncle’s Favorite Van

When Volkswagen revealed its ID Buzz concept reboot of the iconic hippie-era van in 2017, people definitely paid attention. After all, it looks like its ancestor while embracing 21st century design in a major way.

Volkswagen has doubled down with its new release, the ID Buzz Cargo.

As Curbed reports, the innovation isn’t only in the design, which is a more serious-looking take on the first van. Just as you might expect from a company that once made vehicles identified with an era that was notable for giving birth to a movement dedicated to preserving the environment, the ID Buzz Cargo will run solely on electricity. 

That’s not the only “green” feature:

Made for businesses and anyone hauling product from place to place, the I.D. Buzz Cargo bus is an on-the-go office on wheels. The light commercial van boasts a solar roof, three front-row seats, and a middle seat that folds down and transforms into a workspace with an integrated laptop. As a level four autonomous vehicle, you can either drive it or let the computer do the work.

And while this isn’t a camper, it’s still a cool look at what urban commercial vehicles will look like in the future, with an intelligent shelving system that lets you track stock levels throughout the day’s deliveries. The battery pack provides a charge for about 200-340 miles, and a fast-charge option can get the vehicle up to 80 percent in 30 minutes.

The ID Cargo design was unveiled in Mid-September at a German auto show, and it reportedly goes into production in 2021—before the ID Buzz.

Specs will include battery packs designed to fit company budgets and needs. Packs will charge fairly fast and Cargos will have ranges of 200-340 miles. 

By taking the attention-grabbing look of the ID Buzz and creating a practical vehicle, VW might make a leap past the Mercedes-Benz line of vans and trucks and eventually dominate the commercial cargo vehicle industry. We can only hope. 

Genomic study brings us closer to precision medicine for type 2 diabetes

Most patients with type 2 diabetes are treated with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ protocol, but this approach can leave many cases inadequately managed. New work indicates that inherited genetic changes may underlie the variability seen among diabetes patients, with different physiological processes potentially leading to high blood sugar. This work represents a first step toward using genetics to identify subtypes of type 2 diabetes.