The Air Jordan Mars Blackmon ad campaign is one of Jordan Brand's most storied endorsements, but do you know the origins behind that famous flipped brim?
Nike's go-to ad agency, Wieden+Kennedy, recently spoke with former creative director Jim Riswold to get the scoop on Spike and Mike's long running partnership. It all started in 1986, when Riswold and former Wieden+Kennedy president Bill Davenport were out at the movies in LA and caught the trailer for Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It. Spike's charisma caught their attention, and they went to see the film as they returned to Portland.
"The movie is about three men who pursue the same woman, and there was this Mars Blackmon character played by Spike, who when he has his chance to sleep with the woman of his dreams, he won’t take his Air Jordans off, and it was like, that’s an idea, that’s an advertising campaign," recalled Riswold.
From there, they met with Spike, and the rest is history. The ads helped change the game not only for Nike, but the sneaker industry as a whole, injecting a dose of humor and relatable characters and shifting away from the serious campaigns of the '80s.
Head over to Wieden+Kennedy to read the piece in its entirety.
[via Wieden+Kennedy]
