Nike Manager Makes ‘Nike Zoom’ Joke for 20th Consecutive Zoom Meeting
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A manager for athletic gear giant Nike welcomed colleagues to a Zoom video meeting this morning by making a “Nike Zoom” reference, sources said, marking the 20th such meeting in a row in which he has used that gag.
“Good morning!” Steve Hytner, a senior associate vice president for the company, told about a dozen other Nike employees who had joined the virtual meet-up. “And welcome to another Zoom meeting.”
He paused.
“Or should I say… Nike Zoom meeting! Ha!”
The play on words is an allusion to Nike’s Zoom technology, an “innovative and explosive cushioning system designed for speed and agility.” Hytner first used the reference during a Zoom meeting in early June, according to a Nike employee with knowledge of the situation.
“It was mildly amusing the first time,” said the employee, who requested anonymity. “Less so the second, third, and fourth times he said it.”
By the time Hytner greeted this morning’s meeting attendees, the employee said, “he had hauled out that line 19 meetings in a row—I’ve been keeping track—and most of us, I think it’s safe to say, wanted to stab ourselves with salad forks.”
Reached for comment, Hytner acknowledged coming up with the “Nike Zoom” line and wasn’t surprised to learn he’d said it during 20 consecutive meetings.
“Ha ha!” he said. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“It never gets old.”
