The Pros And Cons Of Air Jordan

     Michael Jordan has star power that bridges age, race, and socioeconomic class. Nike understands this aspect of the popular superstar and decided to give him his own clothing line named Jumpman23. It is the most popular form of sports apparel available and the white logo that adorns each article of apparel is known worldwide. Michael Jordan is arguably the most loved and respected athlete of this generation, thus the ad for this company depicted in ESPN The Magazine takes advantage of his immense popularity. In an attempt to expand the companies influence Jumpman23 uses professional baseball player Derrick Jeter to send its message and promote its apparel. In the essay “Absolution for Sale,” Charity

The ethos appeal is present in the Michael Jordan, LT and Polamalu commercials the most. In the Everything’s an argument textbook, it says, “We tend to accept arguments from those we trust, and we trust them in good part because of their reputations. Three main elements – trustworthiness/credibility, authority, and unselfish or clear motive – add up to ethos” (45). Of course, Nike wouldn’t use any one that had some trouble or were untrustworthy to represent their company. They know better than to include Sammy Sosa and Ray Rice to be representatives; however, someone like Michael Jordan is a great choice because of the influence he has had on many people. Michael Jordan is a role model to many; whereas, Sammy Sosa should not be one because of the illegal actions during his baseball career. He was “unaware” of the fact that he had used a corked bat during a game. Even though all his bats were tested and came back clean, Slammin’ Sammy had jeopardized much of his success from the past. Nike keeps a strong ethos by partnering themselves with famous athletes that everyone has at least heard of. Famous athletes increase their credibility because of the belief that if those athletes use their products then the product must be superior to its competitors. It proves that Nike is a high quality brand. By using famous athletes in their commercials, Nike shows that their products are not just

“People are more likely to pay attention to a TV commercial if one of their favorite players is talking, than they would be if the owner of the company was the star” (Miller). It is the association with the known and likeable character which may attract people to follow celebrity endorsements. It may also be the association with success which the athlete is characterizing. Whatever the case may be, Miller gives tips of what marketing companies look for before persuading a player with an endorsement:

Nike, Inc. sought professional athletes to endorse their athletic shoes and in 1985 contracted with Michael Jordan. Michael's success in sports and his endorsement of a personalized Nike brand brought in over $100 million in the first year (Kotler & Keller, 2009). Nike has continued to market successfully with their "Just Do it" campaign and their targeting women athletes.

The revolutionary marketing campaign surrounding the unproven rookie was considered very urban for the time. During Nike’s early years, they had a difficult time pushing sales for their brand new athletic sneakers filled with air. This all changed seemingly overnight when the young Jordan took the basketball world by storm, dominating the opposition night in and night out. The Air Jordan I launched in 1985 in a black and red colorway to match the uniform of the Chicago Bulls. For $80, people could purchase a pair and experience what Nike called “human flight”. To add even more to the Nike and Jordan craze, the Jordan I failed to meet the National Basketball Association’s sneaker color standards at the time, due to a lack of white color. Jordan refused to stop wearing his own shoe, and the NBA began to fine him $5,000 per game that he wore the shoe. Because of Michael’s outstanding performance on the court, the Jordan I was flying off the shelves, selling out at almost every major retailer. These sales were more than enough for Nike, so they began to pay off the fines from the NBA. Then, the greatest sports ban in history took effect. On October 18th, 1985, the NBA officially banned the Nike Air Jordan I from the league, making it illegal to wear them for play. What was thought to be the death of the sneaker was the complete opposite. Nike pushed back

Kanye West and his brand “Yeezy” are one of the biggest names in the sneaker industry. In fact, Kanye West has a song referring to how he has “Jumped over the Jumpman”, Jumpman of course referring to the brand Air Jordan, but is it true? Is Kanye West and Adidas brand Yeezy more popular today than Michael Jordan’s signature shoe line? The Jumpman is one of the most iconic brand logos on the market, but in the past few years Yeezy has become a major competitor; as well as Adidas in general. When you hear Nike is grossing approximately 86.2 billion in 2015 compared to Adidas 17.1 billion, you may think that there is no way Adidas could stand up to the all-mighty Nike, but what if it is just the beginning? Complex Magazine asks this question in

Air Jordan vs. King James: The Debate Over Who Is the Greatest of All Time

Michael Jordan had to fail to succeed. Michael Jordan failed at what he did to strive harder to be the best at what he was doing. Designers Peter Moore, Tinner Hatfield, and Bruce Kilgore dedicated the shoes to Michael by using his silhouette as the legendary “jump-man” logo. In early 1984, Jordan had no idea that being a part of Nike would be one of his greatest accomplishments in his career. Jordan makes 100 million dollars every year just from the production of shoes and clothing apparel because his silhouette is used on every pair. In order for him to even be considered to be the face of the shoe brand, Michael had to prove why he’s the best and there were a series of events that led to his major accomplishment.

Michael did win his first slam dunk contest in them though. It was also the first Nike shoe to not have the Nike logo on it. The Air Jordan III was a very successful shoe. It was the first shoe to have the Jumpman logo that we know today. It was also much hyped up because Spike Lee and Nike made many commercials about it with Michael and Spike’s fictional character Mars Blackmon in them.

So Jordan was coming off a very great season at the University of North Carolina. He also led the USA to a gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. A lot of people believed that is market value was at a high.That is when Nike got on track. Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, put together a group to brainstorm the most profitable way to market Jordan to basketball fans. In fact, Nike had a plan for promoting Jordan even before Jordan played on NBA hardwood. Nike was taking a big risk on someone who was not set up to be a star or even someone in the NBA. Nike offered him a deal that would earn him $7 million over five years. So then the most recognized basketball shoes ever to be created, the “Air Jordan 1!” The original black shoes with a red swoosh and a creamy white laces to go with it. Those shoes went off blew the

(Footlocker.com) His own shoe, with his own logo, designed specifically for him by Peter Moore was worn every game after being signed. Every game he wore a pair of Air Jordan’s he was fined $5000, but Nike paid for the fines. The Jordan 1 the first Air Jordan’s made were the most expensive basketball shoe at $65. Another 5 shoes designed later the Jordan 6’s were made. Michael wore the Infrared 6’s to his first championship win. Skipping up to the 9’s being made Michael retired to play baseball, but the shoe line went

The year an NBA legend started his professional career, Michael Jordan. He established himself as a very dominant player averaging 28.2 points per game in his rookie year. Soon after that he won the rookie of the year award topping off his first season in the NBA. Outside of the court, Jordan signed off a major deal with Nike shoes called Air Jordans. Which influenced the fashion industry forever. Every company wanted to associate themselves with the next big star. Throughout the decade every company from Adidas to Reebok was throwing their names out there to get into the act this started the so-called “sneaker wars”.

The use of specific athletes in marketing campaigns really began to show promise when athletes like Jordan began wearing their own brands of shoes. The idea to consumers or fans of the NBA that they could wear the same shoes as Michael Jordan, and somehow play like him was an easy sell by Nike. Today it is now common for marketable athletes in almost all sports to wear their own style of shoes, spikes, or skates. An interesting point to make is that through Nike Michael Jordan eventually launched his own clothing line called Jumpman23 that makes everything from socks and underwear to winter coats. Even though Jordan has been retired since 1999 the Jumpman23 company has continued to release a new shoe every single year that are simply called “Jordan 24”, an increasing corresponding number to the number of years the shoes have been produced. The new Jordan shoes still retails at over $150 a pair even though Mike hasn’t stepped on the court in 11 years! After retirement and becoming the CEO of the Jumpman brand Michael Jordan has been able to court other famous athletes from a variety of sports to wear his brand. A few examples of the athletes include Derek Jeter (baseball), Dwayne Wade (basketball), Jason Taylor (football), and April Holmes (track and field). The wide range of athletes in all different sports who now market a brand for arguably the greatest athlete of all time truly shows the money, power, and influence an athlete can experience

Nike Company started in 1984, in Portland Oregon by Tinker Hatfield, a former pole-vaulter and architect. Hatfield worked his way into the shoe industry. He got his idea from Converse’s in the early 1970’s slogan, Limousines for the Feet. In Hatfield believe our culture have a lot of interest in shoes, just as much as our culture back in the 1950’s were interested in owning cars. They began introducing their Nike shoes and products to the society by images of people and things like the production of the Nike Air Jordan. This product was named after Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is the best basketball player and biggest star at that time. In advertisement, Michael Jordan would show us a quick lay up to the goal

Nike's management's bet on celebrities marketing. These athlete celebrities including Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods had introduced and placed Nike and its