Impossible is nothing

He's Chen Guangchen, a blind chinese civil rights activist and a pioneering attorney on behalf of women subjected to forced abortions and sterilizations under the one-child policy.

Sometime in the last few days, Chen achieved (again) the impossible: he managed to deceive his 60+ guards and slipped out of the stone farmhouse on the rural plains of Shandong province where he has been held under house arrest, with his family, on and off  since 2005.

If Chen’s captors had been readers of history, they might have predicted that he would not acclimate to limitations: he once ventured four hundred miles to Beijing, when he was in his early twenties, to file a tax complaint. This time he escaped at night once again, and made his way to Beijing with the help of accomplices. He is now believed to be under the protection of U.S. diplomats.

So what does Nike have to do with it? In a mildly frustrating move for Wieden+Kennedy, the advertising company working for the brand, Google exploded with pictures of him wearing a Nike sweater. While this great brand storytelling opportunity is there, it can't be used: sales to its Greater China market went up 18% in volume and 21% in revenue last year, reaching USD 564 million; Unfortunately, there's only one thing that W+K cand do right now: enjoy a moment of silent jubilation.

Meanwhile, thumbs up and fingers crossed for Chen.