THE ICONIC AIR JORDAN 1s
Originally created in 1984 by Nike’s footwear designer, Peter Moore (Forester, 2017). The aim was to create the world’s first signature basketball shoe for men, endorsed by Michael Jordan, who was later to become arguably the game’s greatest player, ever. This shoe and its descendants have impacted history and created subcultures like nothing else. Globally recognisable, it is the Air Jordan 1. Nike as a brand is one of, if not the most influential, widely recognised and worn brands of all time (Herskovitz and Crystal, 2010). From athletes to youth in lower class communities, all the way to affluent celebrities - they all wear the same Nike tick. Air Jordan’s are one of the ways Nike used clever marketing and endorsements to cause frenzy and desire, helping them create the corporate giant Nike is today.
“I think that every generation really has their own thumbprint, but if you look at Michael’s influence you still see the shaved heads out there on the court—still see people playing with a great deal of flare (..) I think
THAT STAMP OBVIOUSLY WENT BEYOND HIS CULTURE
and there is a thing that says ‘Like Michael Jordan’ or the ‘Michael Jordan of’ whether that it is in the NBA, NASCAR, hockey, they still compare people to Michael Jordan.”
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1. (Hayt, 1987),
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- Jordan Brand Vice President Howard White (Harris, 2018)
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HISTORY
The American sportswear company headquarters were in Beaverton, Oregon, USA. It was founded in 1964 by Bill Bowerman (track-andfield coach at the University of Oregon) and Phil Knight (his former student). Their first retail outlet opened in 1966 and they went on to launch their brand shoe Nike in 1972. Blue Ribbon Sports was renamed Nike, Inc., in 1978 and went public two years later. Nike had retail outlets and distributors in more than 170 countries by the early 21st century. Nike’s logo: a curved check mark called the “swoosh” - became recognisable throughout the world.
Nike also coined an iconic logo to be a well known symbol of these shoes; the ‘Jumpman’ logo. Michael originally did the pose for life magazine (1984), the ballet move - a grand jeté leap, inconstant with Jordan’s jumping style, makes out appear as if he’s dunking a basketball into a hoop. On January 22, 2015, ordinal photographer Jonas Linder filed a lawsuit as Nike copied a photograph he had taken in the ‘Jumpman’ logo. However, he had granted Nike temporary permission to use the image and thus the case was dismissed (Walker, 2015).
Michael Jordan’s first choice for an endorsement deal was surprisingly not nike. Adidas, the brand Michael actually preferred, passed on signing him after college. Converse was preoccupied with already established superstar athletes Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Sonny Vaccaro, former Nike marketing executive had to convince the upstart athletic shoe brand to throw money at a “fresh out of college” Michael Jordan.
It was now Nike’s footwear designer Peter Moore’s responsibility to create the first men’s signature shoe. Air Jordan 1 released in 1985, at a retail price of $65 USD - a high-end price for a basketball sneaker at the time (due to current inflation). Meaning Air Jordan’s’ target was to be a higher-tier basketball sneaker from the very beginning. Air Jordan 1s still have the most original colour ways of any Air Jordan model to this day. “Chicago”, “Bred” and “Black Toe” were the only models you’d ever see Michael Jordan wearing on the court. “Bred” later got the nickname “banned” due to the colour restrictions that The NBA had for their uniforms. Nike supposedly paid off $5,000 USD fines for Michael to wear them on court as it was good promotion for the shoe. It creating an edgy, rule breaking brand identity. However, there are no definitive sources that conclude any charge was ever actually processed by The NBA.
The Air Jordan 1 model was the only model worn by Michael Jordan for more than one season. After completing his rookie season, he continued to wear them for his sophomore campaign. The longevity of Michael wearing the shoes and the fact that Air Jordan ones were the prevailing model mean to this day they are the most iconic silhouette of the brand.
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2. (Davidson, 1971), 3. (Bowerman, 1964)
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CULTURAL MEANING
McCracken’s (1986) cultural meaning model identifies three main contributing factors that lead onto one another that cause a product to be associated with a certain culture/ meaning.
The first step within the model that a brand has to identify with is ‘culture’. Whilst looking at Jordan 1s it’s clear Nike saw that basketball was a very relevant dominating culture in the 1980s, especially within low-income minority youth who focused on sports rather than academia. Nike saw that there was room for a role model for these youth, thus made the decision that could’ve lost them millions: using Michael Jordan, if he didn’t end up with the iconic superstardom status he possesses today.
The second factor to consider within the model is the ‘promotional mix’, this is any fashion, politics, marketing, artistic or entertainment devices used to promote a brands product. Nike used about every single one of these within their promotional mix. From politics such as making social statements within commercials, to comedic skits. Some of many political Nike commercials include; Nike’s first ever “Just Do It” in 1988 addressing ageism, featuring 80-year-old Bay Area icon Walter Stack, who ran approximately 62,000 miles in his lifetime, In 1995, Nike tackled gender issues with its “If You Let Me Play” ad, which addressed the benefits of organised sports for girls and the issue of gender stereotypes. Nike also used entertainment such as Spike Lee’s commercial with Nike (1995), and
the “Bo Knows” (1993) commercial, both intended to be comedic. Nike even brought out a limited edition pair of Jordan’s for ‘Legends of Summer’ (2013) tour starring Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z, made with eye catching red glitter. It is no secret Nike are known masters of advertising. Due to their large and varied demographic and range in products means they are able to cover many different areas of promotion, rather than sticking to a more niche target brand identity, like other brands.
The final step within the McCracken model is “product”, which is when the tangible product becomes intangible with the emotions and cultures associated with them. The Air Jordan 1s are clearly associated with The NBA, Michael Jordan, and the mindset of a successful athlete. But not only are they associated with sports, but certain poise and flair of street style within black culture that has been glorified by other cultures.
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4.(Fowler, 2015).
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HOW NIKE CHANGED A GENERATION
Nike using a black athletes as a celebrity endorsement to support their brand to resonate with young black youth as there was a “widespread feeling that black students are generally expected to excel in sports but not academic subjects” (Henry,1994) . This racist societal connotation meant that meant that minorities often chose to focus on sports and the sporting world. In the 1980s and 1990s, typical advertising in the US and Canada “subtly support racism by positioning minorities in limited ways, e.g. underrepresented in billboards and advertising” (Quill, 1990).
Media are “powerful cultural conditioners” and Nike using people of colour to endorse their brand such as Michael Jordan allows them to bring different social groups together through a common interest of Basketball, celebrities, apparel and footwear. Black males often cope with frustration, alienation and social barriers caused by an institutionally racist society by “channelling their creative energies into the construction of unique expressive and conspicuous styles of demeanour, speech, gesture, clothing, hairstyle, walk, stance and handshake”. (Majors, 1990).
This superstar lifestyle and portrayed by Michael Jordan was desirable for all demographics, non-dependant on race or social class. He influenced adults children to mirror a similar attitude; “from inner-city black boys who’s lifestyle is glorified by the commercial media to suburban white girls who high five and call each other ‘homegirls’”, (Lull, 1995). This specific social image became intangible with Air Jordan’s. Nike further perpetuated this idea by using advertisements such as their collab with Spike Lee’s Mars Blackmon (1988) with the iconic slogan
“it’s gotta be the shoes”
Nike also had a load of other slogans for their ads, such as “wing it.”, “Gravity’s worst nightmare”, ‘Look, up in the air” and “Just doin’ it”. These slogans all connote towards the idea that Air Jordan’s will help you ‘fly’- jump higher in
basketball; important if you want to succeed in the sport. Nike are claiming that these shoes will equal better skills, this drove motivation to buy the shoes, as people everywhere wanted to be like Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan was a remarkably successful basketball player at every level he ever played. Nike, however, framed him in a way that appeared as if he was heavily faulted in their 1997 advert ‘Failure’. He was portrayed as being dropped from his high school basketball team and highlighted his annoyance when he had been picked third in the NBA draft. Michael Jordan and the brands he endorsed were able to position him as;
“ A paragon of virtue stemming from the underdog narrative they constructed and his pathological dedication to winning”
The advertisement, ”Failure”, displays the ‘Jordan ethos’ and brand identity, one that sells consumers on the idea that setbacks are unavoidable and success is achieved only through hard work. The statement he says “I fail over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed’, is relatable to the general public who may also face failures in their own life. The shoes then become symbolic of success, simultaneous to Michael Jordan’s.
A more recent advertisement, “Hoops” (2019), Recent promotion includes the message “You belong to a family. The game of basketball unites us all. Through wins and losses, we never fly alone.”with a very heartfelt commercial featuring youth and adults playing basketball in Jordan’s, with basketballs with the ‘Jumpman’ logo on it. The end screen is the word “unite” but with the Jumpman logo as the ‘I”. This advertisement clearly tries to play on the idea that basketball unites people and creates a sense of family. Consumers will then buy into these shoes as they believe it will give them a sense of belonging. They also feature many minorities in the advert which may resonate harder with low income minority families due to their feeling of being secluded by an institutionally racist society.
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5. (Widen & Kennedy, 1989), 6. (Smith, 1987), 7. (Williamson, Hachimura, Nurse, 2019)
“I’ve failed over, and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed”
- Michael Jordan, 1997.5. 6. 7.
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Sneaker culture is the most diverse and lives among all youth communities. Sneaker culture raised generations of “sneaker-heads”, ready to camp outside stores to get their hands on a pair of coveted trainers.
Nike’s Air Jordan’s brought special emphasise to basketball shoes.
on that glorious day, everyone knew that the sneaker culture will become unstoppable”.
These “sneaker-heads” long for limited editions, different colour-ways and collars. Unlike many other trends, the sneaker industry and culture surrounding it seems to be seeing exponential growth. In the current climate, digital lines, bots, and bidding sites like StockX and GOAT. These new systems have introduced various pros and cons to the art of sneaker collecting.
There are several Jordan releases that highlight the inflation of these shoes when they go into resale: Off-White™ x Nike Air Jordan 1
“White”, release date March 3rd, 2018, average resell price of $1,956, Nike Air Jordan 1 “Legends of Summer Black”, which were never officially released to the public, average resell price of $6,400 and the Travis Scott x Nike Air Jordan 1 “Reverse Swoosh”, release date May 11, 2019, with an average Resell Price of $973.
Michael Jordan is “undoubtedly the most lyrically referenced baller ever” according to Complex Magazine (2011). “J’s” (a nickname for Air Jordan’s) have become a popular symbol of status today within youth culture. Popular current rap artists such as Drake, Macklemore, Juicy J and many others have mentioned the status symbol in their songs. With lyrics such as; ”J’s on, pinky ring” (Drake, 2013) , “J’s on my feet” (Mike Will Made It, 2013) and “Tip-toeing in my Jordan’s” (RIFF RAFF, 2014). Macklemore even dedicated a whole song to the impact of Jordan’s on him as a kid, denoting Adidas as a symbol of lesser quality;
“Four stripes on their Adidas
Nike Air Flight, book bag was so
The symbol that Jordan’s held hasn’t changed much from when it first released, however they are now definitely a fashion symbol, rather than sportswear.
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“And
On the court I wasn’t the best But my kicks were like the pros
Yo, I stick out my tongue
So everyone could see that logo
dope”.
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(Li, 2018), 9. (Gorsler, 2019), 10. (Jones, 2018)
INTERVIEW WITH A SNEAKERHEAD
What’s the first image that comes to your mind when you think of Air Jordan’s?
“Probably the Air Jordan 1s first, just because they’re so popular right now, you see them everywhere, all over instagram, can’t really go out without seeing a pair of them. Oh, and the Michael Jordan Jumpman logo of course.”
When did you become involved in sneaker-head culture?
“When I was about 15. I had heard all about Jordan’s in songs and seen people wear them. They were definitely like a symbol of being ‘cool’. I’m really into tracksuits and other casual athletic wear and they are a perfect match for my style.
Me and my friend went and got a pair of Jordan auras as they were on sale. It was a really good day for me when I first got them, remember thinking I can’t wait to wear these and show people. From then I’ve just accumulated more and more pairs of trainers. I love the buzz you get when you buy a new pair, fresh clean never worn trainers, there’s nothing better. Especially if you get your hands on a limited style and everyones like “Omg are those the…”, makes you feel good.”
Whats the future of sneakerhead culture?
“Not anytime soon, if anything it’s on the rise, everyone likes shoes now. You can have a basic outfit and a fresh pair of shoes and you look good. There’s so much hype around Jordan’s especially, don’t think much has changed in time, and I think Jordan’s will always be a symbol of being ‘cool’, even kids who hardly know who Michael Jordan is want a pair.”
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I spoke to Millie Bowman (19) a self-proclaimed ‘sneaker-head’ to understand the current culture and impact of Air Jordan’s
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I believe when someone comes out with a pair of Jordan’s on, immediately I mention them in a positive light. I don’t think the way Jordan’s are looked upon will change anytime soon. Nike are constantly reigniting the flame by bringing out new collaborations with up-to-date artists and celebrities, which keep people interested and the hype going around them. I believe Air Jordan’s are undoubtably the most iconic sneaker endorsement of all time, even so much so that their legacy is separate from Micheal Jordan and will likely live on much longer.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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11. (Gorsler, 2019)
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(Halfhill, 1986)
