Nike to Drop Ad After Legislator Objects

Nike Inc. has decided to stop running a television commercial that a congressman said might encourage youths to try risky behavior at train tracks. The 30-second ad featuring an in-line skater racing a train wasn’t meant to be offensive, said Nike spokesman Scott Reames. The ad will be dropped in response to a recent letter from Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) to Nike President Tom Clark, Reames said. Kucinich wrote the letter after some parents in his district complained about the ad, which began nationwide Jan. 1. The ad, which will complete its run this week, features “a tiny person on Nike Air Warp Flex in-line skates racing a toy train in Patell’s Oddities Shop,” Reames said. It was “intended to be fantasy.” Separately, Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike said it began selling products through its Web site for the first time. Nike’s shares slipped 25 cents to close at $50.75 on the NYSE.