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FINIS enters marketing relationship with Diana Nyad
evmo
Sydneydev
This discussion was created from comments split from: 110 miles, 53 hours: Questions for Diana Nyad.
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https://swimswam.com/diana-nyad-joins-forces-finis/
This just makes me want to cry. I had the opportunity to meet w one of the CEO's of Finis and I LOVED him, he had "out of the box" ideas, was kind, thoughtful , helpful and articulate in the particular meeting we were in and , well , I thought.. I want to work for him.
We did NOT discuss swimming, this did not come up.. but oh dear god.. this just makes me feel , uh deflated.
Will she ever go away??
It might help their sales. Their super delicate electronics that break when you look at them funny sure won't help.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
This seems a very questionable and strange assertion. Having read all the “observer” accounts, as well as the posts, videos and pictures shared via her media team during the event, I don’t remember ever seeing any pictures or hearing any mention of her using a FINIS underwater MP3 or any other underwater MP3 devices.
So earlier today I posted the same message that I posted above on the SwimSwam page and just recently received this email:
==============================
Hello Phillip,
Thank you for your comment about the MP3. I wanted to let you know that FINIS saw it, and by whatever internal method they use to decide these things, have sent us an updated version of their press release without it included, which we have now posted instead of the last one.
Just wanted to reach out and let you know, and thank you for helping keep our partners 'honest' in their advertisements.
Thanks,
Braden Keith
Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief. SwimSwam
==============================
The new Finis press release being published on SwimSwam now makes no such claim that she wore the Finis MP3 player during her Cuba to Florida event.
They obviously never published my post and it also looks like a few over posts have now been removed from that page as well.
The claim that DN wore the Finis MP3 Player during her Cuba to Florida Event mat have been retracted from SwimSwam, but a simple search shows that it is still persisting elsewhere.
I would have assumed that directly promoting the sale of a product based on a celebrity endorsement under false claims of usage in a specific event, if proven, should constitute false advertising.
================================
Diana Nyad Joins forces with FINIS
July 21st, 2016
National record-breaking swim icon and author formalizes partnership with global swim company and provider of leading underwater music players
(Livermore, CA – July 21st, 2016) – – FINIS, Inc., a worldwide leader in technical swimming development, is proud to announce their partnership with famous long-distance swimmer, Diana Nyad who gained national and international notoriety when she became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage.
Known as one of the world’s greatest long-distance swimmers in the 1970s, Nyad has continued to surprise the world with her remarkable swims over the past thirty years, including the 111-mile journey from the beaches of Havana to Key West, Florida, which she completed at the age of 64 in 53 hours. As a broadcaster, motivational speaker and author, Nyad is a national fitness icon and inspiration. She has been a guest speaker on TED Talks and has been featured on many national television programs, including CNN, NBC and ABC.
Nyad is an avid user of the FINIS underwater MP3 devices, which she used while completing her swim from Florida to Cuba. Most notably, Nyad listened to John Lennon’s “Imagine” repeatedly during her trek. In fact, she knows that when she’s listened to the song exactly one thousand times, then nine hours and forty-five minutes have passed.
“As magical as immersion in pools, lakes, and oceans can be, swimming is often also a lonely endeavor,” says Nyad. “The FINIS Duo Underwater MP3 player has brought me the delight of company. Now, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and Katy Perry are right with me, stroke by stroke. With astounding clarity, their voices, their harmonies, their guitar licks, literally make me smile as I swim.”
While Nyad no longer attempts major long-distance swims, she still swims for fitness and recently released a critically acclaimed book, Find A Way, which tells her inspiring story of pursuing her lifelong dream to swim from Cuba to Florida. This feat took her five attempts before she successfully accomplished it in 2013.
“When you talk to Diana, you can’t help but feel inspired,” says FINIS Co-Founder and CEO, John Mix. “She has such a positive outlook on life, and she transcends not only the sport of swimming but athletics in such a beautiful way. It doesn’t matter what your dream is—she is always inspiring people to achieve their dreams.”
To receive a 20% discount off the FINIS Duo Underwater MP3 player, head to FINISinc.com and type in the code: diana20 at checkout (case sensitive).
ABOUT FINIS
John Mix and Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Pablo Morales founded FINIS in 1993 with a mission to simplify swimming for athletes, coaches, beginners and lifelong swimmers around the world. Today, FINIS fulfills that mission through technical innovation, high quality products and a commitment to education. FINIS products are currently available in over 80 countries. With a focus on innovation and the fine details of swimming, FINIS will continue to develop products that help more people enjoy the water. http://www.finisinc.com
B-)
http://themindsjournal.com/things-narcissists-do/
:-q
Oh wait this is about Nyad, for a minute there I thought it was about are two leading Presidential candidates ;-)
just saw an article on swimswam.com about DN and the FINIS MP3 player and noticed the comments were closed. I guess that's the new strategy to prevent the sunlight of truth.
How can one possibly play the same song ONE THOUSAND times and not lose count??? Or can one program this gadget to play one thousand of anything and then stop? If that's the case, I'd better go buy one of these players. That "song of your choice X 1,000" is feature I can't live without.
"The device offers 4GB of flash memory and a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery life of up to 7 hours" Magical currents and magical batteries. How to get nine + hours out of batteries that last only 7 - only in the World of Nyad
You know what bugs me? Ryan Lochte actually swum all of his races and actually achieved a pile of Olympic medals. Yet his sponsors dropped him at the slightest hint of scandal. (Which apparently is still a bit murky with regard to the actual truth.) Yet 'ol DN can BS on about the MP player that she maybe used on the swim she maybe swum and Finis is willing to bank on her. Ridiculous!
Here's FINIS' contact information:
Email: info@finisinc.com
USA OFFICE
Telephone: 925.454.0111
US Toll Free: 888.333.4647
EUROPE OFFICE (Bulgaria)
Telephone: +359 2 936 86 36
Now she's gone and ruined Iz for me.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
What a load of BS!
This woman has no limit to the lies she will tell!
I guess that makes my decision on which brand of tech suit I will get this year pretty simple!
So how many emails can we send to the inbox before we get spam blocked?
@JenA -- THANK YOU.
Now I need to go read the thread on "talking to the press " or something so that my comments are curated not rants...
Now Finis is claiming she is the first to swim Cuba to Florida... Do they not care about the truth?
Just for the record (may we look forward to these things disappearing!...):
Screen shot from video:
The press release (http://apps.finisinc.com/divein/press/diana-nyad-joins-forces-with-finis) linked on the YouTube page states:
... which is helpful in knowing who to ask for when you call FINIS to give them feedback.
Here's (the extended edition of) how you can voice your feedback:
Comment on the YouTube page:
Email info@finisinc.com
Call:
Write:
Sofia 1202, Bulgaria, EU
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FINISswim
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Finisinc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finisswim/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/finisswim/
Perhaps slightly tangential to this thread, but somewhat related. Yesterday, Swimswam posted a press release from finis about their new SwimSense live. Someone in the comments posted a link to dcrainmaker's fairly negative review of the product.
This morning, that comment was pulled down, and the comments on the story are closed.
@timsroot , I am "liking" it but I really want to do a thumbs down.
Once again.. "The truth? You can't handle the truth"
From one of my all time fav movies.
Obviously FINIS, can't handle the truth, or at least reality and research.
What a pile.... also, I'm wondering if anyone here likes to listen to music while they are swimming. Personally, I don't. I like to be alive and experience what I'm doing. I don't need a soundtrack and actually it is an escape from the constant noise assault everywhere else. I also like to be able to hear boats and death skis when they are around because, like I say, I like to be alive...
YES!
>-
I do. I love it. Now in OW I don't, both for safety and because I like to hear nature, but nothing got me through hours of being strapped with velcro to a ladder in a barely 10m long pool better than my swimp3.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
I've not used it, only read the press release and that product review. I had a finis hydrotracker that worked unreliably, although the concept was a good one. I've consistently heard that electronics from Finis are sketchy, but perhaps they've improved on that.
I'll just stick to counting laps the old fashioned way, i guess.
Check out this full-page ad in this month's USMS Swimmer magazine:
John Mix, FINIS CEO
Laura Hamel, Editor, USMS Swimmer magazine
Facts
“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
~ Mark Twain
Jay Eckert, Advertising Director, USMS Swimmer Magazine:
Phone: (941) 556-6284
Fax: (941) 556-7946
email: jeckert@usms.org
>
I cannot agree even with the "if". I don't believe any unbiased person could read the reports from her own "observers" and believe the swim was completed.
This ad is so disappointing. It is one thing to fool the uneducated general public, but this... it is hard to accept.
Thank you @JenA and @evmo for the informational posts above. I expressed my disappointment in an email to Mr. Eckert.
Many Cubans have made that crossing. Why don't they get credit? Some of them swam a little at the end too. It's not an easy crossing as I'm sure they would attest. And their boats probably weren't as seaworthy as Diana's. And they probably didn't have a fancy Finis music box either.
What amazing work! I think I can spot eight (counting the one on the book) "FINIS" labels. Are there more?
I like the beaver / river otter. Perhaps adding a polar bear would help with specific location.
The Hoff!!!
You guys!
Jill Dahle, FINIS Global Marketing Manager, actually called me back and we had a half-decent conversation. She would not acknowledge the outright falsehood of Diana's statement, but said that they were "revisiting" things.
I got the impression that she'd received several days worth of similarly themed feedback. I wonder how much of that feedback was triggered by this thread...
I didn't take notes during our conversation, but I was left with the impression that FINIS was interested in feedback, and that it was not their goal to alienate any demographic of the swimming community. She agreed that suggesting Diana completed the Cuba->FL swim using the device was a mistake.
If this is an issue that you, dear reader, feel strongly about, I encourage you to reach out and explain how Diana's spokesperson-ship and FINIS' marketing campaign make you feel.
I own a lot of Finis training equipment and I swear they should be giving me a commission based on how many times I've recommended certain tools (their positive drive fins, for example) to folks who then go out and buy them. I'm having a very hard time doing that these days based on these ads. I'm not going to complain about using Diana Nyad as a spokesperson, because that's how the world works. But for a company to clearly not do its homework for the very sport they're supposedly serving is truly irresponsible and gives further credibility to the obfuscation and outright lies Diana has told as part of her marketing package (over-hyping personality aside.)
@JenA "She agreed that suggesting Diana completed the Cuba->FL swim using the device was a mistake."
"Nyad is an avid user of the FINIS underwater MP3 devices, which she used while completing her swim from Florida to Cuba."
"suggesting" - they out right stated it in an official company press release with associated promotional sales codes that DN used this device during her highly publicisd swim. Although they retracted it for SwimSwam when I called them out, you can still find the original press release online in other places.
For example ProSwimwear: http://www.proswimwear.co.uk/blog/diana-nyad-joins-forces-with-finis
"Deceptive advertising, also known as false advertising, refers to a manufacturer's use of confusing, misleading, or blatantly untrue statements when promoting a product. Advertising law will protect consumers from deceptive advertising through the enforcement of specific legislation."
In my opinion it appears that Finis used deceptive advertising and should be reported to the appropriate USA Advertising Standards Association.
As Finis seem to have no scruples about letting facts get in the way of their advertising, here is a possible suggestion for their next campaign...
"FINIS, Inc., a worldwide leader in technical swimming development, is proud to announce a new partnership with famous long-distance swimmers, Gertrude Ederle, Captain Webb, Annette Kellerman and Rear Admiral Nyad who all uses Finis products during their famous first crossings of the English Channel."
Likewise. I've stopped "selling" the Neptune to other lap swimmers.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Unfortunately, times haven't changed. The following is an excerpt from a Sports Illustrated article, dated 9/24/1979, about Doc Counsilman's English Channel attempt.
“By taking on the Channel, Counsilman also hoped to help plot a truer course for a sport that he feels is being exploited by ‘phony-baloney’ promoters. ‘ He cites the example of Diana Nyad, ‘a very mediocre swimmer with a very good publicist. Most of her swims have been failures. For instance, she has attempted to swim the Channel three times and has never finished. Still, when she gets into the tide off the Bahamas and rides it to Florida, a swim that truly great marathoners like John Kinsella could do with one arm tied behind their back backs, she gets all the attention. The result is that more deserving marathoners like Loreen Pass-Field, the current women’s champion, go begging.’”
Keep moving forward.
:^o
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I got a nice note back from Laura at USMS that they've taken my feedback into consideration and pass it along to Finis. I wrote Finis the same time I wrote USMS but no response from them (yet?).
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
The thing I find slightly interesting about the partnership between DN and Finis is the opportunity this now gives people to challenge her in public arena with a mechanism/platform to do so. Previously, if you disagreed with DN's claims there was not a lot you could do about it. You could attempt to educate the public but it was often just your word against hers and her voice is louder.
However now that these claims are being used as part of consumer based marketing/advertising there is suddenly a forum available to challenge them. The advert posted above (the real one, not my satirical ones) states "First person to swim the 111 miles from Cuba to Florida". If this is false or misleading then this can be reported to the appropriate body and if enough complaints they may be forced to back their claim with appropriate evidence.
In the USA I believe this is governed by Federal Trade Commission
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/media-resources/truth-advertising
In effect the moment DN's swim history, biography, claims etc. where tag onto consumer advertising this pushes it into a completely different arena.
I wish. Won't change anything. The Nyadiots will circle around her and shout down anyone who dares challenge their deity.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
That's the point. This is no longer a shouting match on social media but a claim of false advertising. Finis, as the publisher, will now bear the responsibility of proving these statements or retracting them. What was lacking before was an arbitrator which, in theory, is now the Federal Trade Commission.
@phodgeszoho
Excellent!
\m/
I believe the FTC focuses on fraudulent claims about the product, rather than the endorser...any lawyers out there?
FINIS has done its best to scrub the evidence, but another hilariously false claim in the original press release is this:
"Imagine" is 3 minutes, 3 seconds in duration.
3:03 * 1000 = 50 hours, 50 minutes. Not 9 hours, 45 minutes.
Here's the Wayback Machine's archived version of the press release on SwimSwam.
And here's one site where the original press release is still available live.
Diana Nyad exaggerating and/or fabricating stuff isn't anything new, but I agree with @phodgeszoho, it changes the game when the exaggerations/fabrications start appearing in commercial advertisements.
I can never really tell where that song begins or ends...so maybe she just counts 1,000 Imagines? But then that is only 8 hours 39 minutes (partway through the 167th song play @ 6 Imagines per song). Either way, that's a lot of Imagining. My head starts to spin after the second time through that song. Diana Nyad's Imagination is clearly top-notch.
I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.