The pro game was pretty much mired in mediocrity in the early-80's -- even the championship game was only available on delay on late night television. That was before three things occurred: The rise of the sports shoe giant Nike, the emergence of two incredible players in Larry Bird and Michael Jordan and the dominance of the first 'Dream Team' in the Olympics. The confluence of these mighty forces gave birth to some wonderful, profound and wacky commercials pitching everything from shoes to sports drinks -- while reinventing the sports commercial as the author of a lifestyle no young person could do without.
'Original' Air Jordan
The Year: 1985
The sheer adrenaline of a jet engine was never put to better use than in this inaugural MJ commercial. This says it all about Jordan (and Nike). Jordan could sky ... check, and Nike knew how to market ... check. Was It a Slam Dunk?: Of course. It's the first in a long line of adverts where Jordan and Nike pretty much redefined the sports commercial ... and left Chuck Taylors to the hipsters.
The Year: 1985
The sheer adrenaline of a jet engine was never put to better use than in this inaugural MJ commercial. This says it all about Jordan (and Nike). Jordan could sky ... check, and Nike knew how to market ... check. Was It a Slam Dunk?: Of course. It's the first in a long line of adverts where Jordan and Nike pretty much redefined the sports commercial ... and left Chuck Taylors to the hipsters.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1. steven. you gotta say the emergence of three players. bird, magic and THEN jordan. you can't say bird and jordan and leave magic out. magic won a title in his rookie year!
Posted at 12:06AM on Mar 17th 2008 by ZuPac Shakur