Artists in Ads: William S. Burroughs for Nike

Another entry in our Artists in Ads series. This time we check in with that ol' reptile, William S. Burroughs, doing a TV ad for Nike circa the mid-'90s. Burroughs did all sorts of scandalous things during his long life, but this ad was the thing that really shocked and appalled his fans. "Cut word lines," Burroughs wrote in 1961's The Soft Machine. "Cut music lines — Smash the control images — Smash the control machine — Burn the books — Kill the priests — Kill! Kill! Kill!" That was what we expected from Burroughs! How could he tell us "the purpose of technology is not to confuse the mind," when he'd spent his career ranting about technology being used to corrupt and enslave the human mind? Burroughs' dazed delivery over a fritzy TV screen made it look like he was being held prisoner somewhere and forced to read this drivel by his captors. If only. Burroughs' fans could gladly forgive him almost anything - shooting his wife, his heroin addiction, even that cameo in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. But not the Nike commercial... Not then, not now, not ever.






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