As part of its "Just Do It!" advertising campaign, Nike chose author William S. Burroughs for a cameo spokesman role in a television spot. This is the same man who, while vacationing in Mexico in 1951 prior to achieving fame, shot and killed his wife in a drunken haze while attempting to shoot a glass off her head at a party. At the time of the incident, Burroughs had been scouring the country for drugs and homosexual liaisons.

Nike later received flak from Muslims over one of their sneakers' logos that resembled the word "Allah" in Arabic script. "The placement of this holy symbol on shoes which will be soiled, walked on and disposed of is very offensive," said Houston Rockets' center Hakeem Olajuwon, who is a Muslim as well as a spokesman for another brand of shoes.

Reebok made a far more startling gaffe when they named a whole new line of sneaker "Incubus," apparently before looking up what the word meant: a mythical demon who rapes women in their sleep.

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