The Enduring Popularity of Air Jordans and 'His Airness'

By Anne Enke, Anne of Carversville

Air Jordan Is Nowhere Near Its Last Dance

NBA star MIchael Jordan has made over $1.3 billion from Nike, an estimated sum Forbes magazine calls "the biggest endorsement bargain in sports".

As the richest athlete endorsement deal ever, the Chicago Bulls superstar NFL player Michael Jordan did as much for Nike, as the Nike Swoosh did for him. Note the the Swoosh disappeared in the second year of the shoe, prompting Air Jordans and Jordan Brand to thereafter draw "inspiration from jets and sports cars, jazz and even wildlife," writes the Chicago Tribune, who offers one of many histories of Air Jordans on the Internet.

The History of Flying Men

Icarus: Perhaps you’ve heard about Icarus. In Greek mythology, Icarus attempted to escape from Crete flying with wings made of feathers and wax. His father Daedalus warned Icarus first of complacency and then of hubris and lack of awareness.

Literally, Icarus was to fly in the middle of the sky. Too close to the water, the wax would harden and clog his wings. If Icarus flew to high and close to the sun, the wax in his wings would melt, After takeoff, Icarus did indeed fly high into the sky.

Unable to resist the hubris of defying gravity and flying on a divine trajectory, Icarus lost his wing power as the sun melted the wax in his wings. He fell into the sea and died.

Superman: From 1952-1958, American kids watched Clark Kent transform himself from a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper into a superhuman able to “change the course of mighty rivers and bend steel in his bare hands.”

Superman was able to defy gravity, flying through the air to save the world in a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way! After 1958, kids waited, waited, waited for Superman to return.

They had ‘Superman’ movies. But the home TV screen sat empty of an airborn action hero who flew above the clouds.

Michael Jordan: In 1984 their wait ended. Michael Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls.

‘His Airness’ As Superman for ‘We the People’

After watching a 30-minute reel of 30-second Air Jordan commercials over the years, there’s no doubt that Michael Jordan was a next-generation superman in the making. AOC shares that reel in part 2 of our multi-post story on Michael Jordan, Nike, Air Jordan and “we the people”.

Nike was hardly just along for the ride in this ambitious marketing and branding story. The company had Icarus-size ambitions, with few of them realized when Jordan was drafted. Reality is that Beaverton, Oregon was of so little consequence when Michael Jordan hit the NBA, that his agent David Falk couldn’t get the future superstar to even talk with Nike.

Moms have a way of intervening in these matters . . . and Falk reached out to Jordan’s parents. MJ admits that his beloved mom Deloris told him to get on an airplane and meet with Nike.

Ka-Ching

After agreeing to a deal that sent heart palpitations through the bodies of high-level Nike executives, Michael Jordan, the Brooklyn boy who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, walked away with a five-year deal at an annual base pay of $500,000.

Sounds good, right? It was triple any other NBA sneaker deal in 1984. To sweeten the deal, Jordan also got his own shoe line: Air Jordan was born.

“Nike’s expectation when we signed the deal was, at the end of year four, they hoped to sell $3 million worth of Air Jordans,” says Falk. “In year one, we sold $126 million.”

Probably The Biggest, Baddest Licensing Deal in History

Nike revenues, led by Jordan brand, continue to defy logic. AOC hasn’t verified yet if Jordan Brand or Air Jordan has ever faltered.

We can say that Nike released its 2021 fourth quarter revenue and profits — and 2021 fiscal earnings at the end of June. Sportico reports:

Revenue in the fourth quarter, ending May 31, was up 96% to $12.3 billion, helping the athletic goods maker post a 19% year-over-year sales gain to $44.5 billion. The business also trounced Wall Street estimates for net income with earnings per share of 93 cents for the quarter, compared to a 51 cents consensus profit estimate and a 51 cents net loss a year ago. Nike had full year per share net income of $3.56, up 123%.

“FY21 was a pivotal year for Nike as we brought our consumer direct acceleration strategy to life across the marketplace,” Nike president and CEO John Donahue said in the earnings press release. “Fueled by our momentum, we continue to invest in innovation and our digital leadership to set the foundation for NIKE’s long-term growth.”

Our headline phrase “The Enduring Popularity of Air Jordans” has a nice ring to it, right? Let me translate that for you.

Nike’s Jordan Brand revenue was up 31% for the fiscal year ended May 31 to $4.7 billion, beating their five-year plan of $4.5 billion. The gain comes on the heels of a 15% gain last year. All of this stupendous performance happened at a time when sales fell at each of the company’s other six business units, according to the fiscal year financial statements.

Most every business in America suffered COVID-related decreases. Not Air Jordan or Jordan Brand.

Nike Embraces Consumer Direct Acceleration (CDA): AOC Calls It ‘We the People” Acceleration, and It’s Digital

The most obvious change attached to CDA is consolidating sales of Air Jordan products away from traditional retailers and into a direct digital relationship with customers.

On first thought we say “Okay, Nike wants to sell sneakers on their own website? They’re cutting out other retailers. Is that CDA, Anne?”

“Air Jordans have cult status as it is. Why would Nike give up half the retail value of its Air Jordans to a store that does nothing to cultivate its status as the blockbuster brand that it has become? In a digital world, that makes no sense. Going direct is the best line of offense for Nike, right?”

Bauhaus-Inspired Nike Air Max 270 Sneakers Inspired Toilet Paper Magazine Posters AOC Fashion July, 2019

The answer is “yes”, but that process has many layers. In July 2019, AOC wrote a post on Nike’s first lifestyle Air Max sneaker. Yes, the product [then] “marries the softest, smoothest and resilient foam, Nike React.”

This is an example of layered CDA. It’s about creating demand, and Nike is surrounded by a global army of ambassadors spreading its message. Countless layers of pro-Air Jordan information flow around its release schedule of sought-after product. Reality is that we can write an entire post on the financial flow world of Air Jordan.

In the case of AOC’s article, Italy’s ToiletPaper Magazine was helping create demand around the product launch by tapping creatives to tell the story in our own visual language.

Toilet Paper became a probably unpaid Nike ambassador, but who knows. It certainly got the magazine attention. Then Fast Company picked up the story of the campaign and AOC saw it, too.

Unlike blogs, websites, video-makers and ordinary folks, who just copy the work of others, Nike is seeking creatives with an Apple-mentality, involved in the relentless pursuit of perfection. I daresay, without being paid a dime — or with only a original creative spark being paid — communication players built-out the story around the new Air Max lifestyle sneaker.

Primarily through a community of blogs, YouTubers, Insta-posters and all the talent who follow Air Jordan, different people did different things with the story.

Knowing from Fast Company that the posters honored the Bauhaus, AOC (as always) went intellectual. We don’t assume that especially younger readers necessarily know or care about the Bauhaus. How can we use the campaign to teach them?

The Bauhaus was founded by Weimar-based architect Walter Gropius, who combined both arts and crafts and the fine arts worlds in a democratic, populist intellectualism. The Art Story describes the Bauhaus movement in terms that resonate today:

The origins of the Bauhaus lie in the late 19th century, in anxieties about the soullessness of modern manufacturing, and fears about art's loss of social relevance. The Bauhaus aimed to reunite fine art and functional design, creating practical objects with the soul of artworks.

In this simple example exercise, Nike was able to move out of the world of sports and into the world of Apple creatives. If Steve Jobs were alive, he would be really impressed.

I’m wasn’t even Bernie Sanders’ biggest supporter when I decided to add this twist to AOC’s sharing of the Nike posters. Bernie’s voice talking about the soullessness of modern manufacturing pounded my eardrums.

Almost subconsciously, I knew The Art Story description of the Bauhaus would appeal to his supporters. When I read these words about the Bauhaus now — two years later — it was perfect for the connection for Air Jordan shoes.

Is this CDA “for the people” communications strategy working for Nike? In the Nike earnings press release quoted above, Nike Direct posted a 60% rise in sales, so you tell me.

Performance Basketball Shoes Are in Downward Spiral Since 2015, but Retro Is Rising

AOC didn’t know that the performance basketball shoe market peaked in 2015 and has experienced double-digit declines since then, according to NPD.

Sales fell a massive 23% in 2020, enough to crush companies not prepared for it. Nike was prepared, and the “retro” or lifestyle business has more than made up for the declines. When I read the words “retro’ and lifestyle business in new business articles about Air Jordan and Jordan Brand, I knew we were talking about ToiletPaper Magazine shoes.

Jordan is the dominant player, with 96% of the market including Jordan and Nike brand sales, writes Sportico. “The retro product has done phenomenal,” Cowen & Co. analyst John Kernan told the website. “Nike is doing a lot of different colorways now, and they are launching product in very smart, very creative ways. They have done a masterful job managing the marketplace.” [That’s the example I just gave you,]

AOC will investigate this 96% share of market stat. Part of me says it can’t be right. Then again . . . in one of the future articles under development about women and Air Jordan, I put the word ‘Jordan’ in the search finder for Black Women are Taking Over the Footwear Industry, and 25 citations came up. Awesome.

The World of Air Jordan Drops

Air Jordan drops are huge events in the sneaker world. Countless communities have grown up around the world of sneakerheads. Social psychologists write about them. There are calendars online with all the drop dates organized with images. Determined fans look for ways to get a pair of targeted Air Jordans months before the releases.

Case in point, Air Jordans are some of the most highly anticipated shoes by the SoleSavy community. Different colorways and versions are taking center stage on their watchlist of new releases – the Air Jordan 1 alone has 23 different colorways.

Back in 2018, Nike brand president Trevor Edwards stated, “We want to keep Jordan icons coveted and special, which is why we are proactively managing the exclusivity of specific iconic styles.” This means that these shoes will continue to be hard to get your hands on, making them unique to say the least.

My point is that Nike has an army of creatives, writers, community-builders ambassadors — whatever you want to call us — selling Air Jordans. AOC doesn’t belong to any membership sites, but I am stunned to really understand this vast network that Nike and Michael Jordan have built together. Many sneaker-selling sites and online sneakerhead communities deal with all brands. But Air Jordan is king.

The more AOC digs and explores the Air Jordan brand DNA — including this incredible new place for Air Jordans in the world of activist fundraising — call us speechless.

Image by Mike Von, Downtown Los Angeles, CA via Unsplash

Air Jordan: A Brand People Believe In

Studying the Nike press release on fiscal 2021 sales, Air Jordan has been very much with us in America’s darkest hour in decades. In all honesty, I don’t have an emotional relationship with Nike. But I’ve definitely developed an attachment to Air Jordan and Jordan Brand, especially when we get to the section on values and activism.

Covid Sent a Gut Punch to the Air Jordan Community

Americans were unemployed; people were sick, front-line workers were forced to get to work so the subways could operate and grocery stores were open to feed the people. Team USA was challenged beyond our worst nightmares, with relentless demands on ordinary people to perform at peak levels.

Healthcare workers, especially in America’s urban areas, slept in Manhattan’s empty luxury hotels. Nurses couldn’t hug their kids for weeks but rose again every day to face a worsening nightmare of illness and death from sea to shining sea.

Who did we turn to for comfort and a sense of hope and security — but also a shot in the arm to keep us running? ‘His Airness’ Michael Jordan — that’s who.

There is no debate around this issue. The Nike fiscal report on sales and profitability tells us all we need to know about how “we the people” felt about Air Jordan and Jordan Brand in 2020. Businesses were reeling, and in saunters Air Jordan to take a Wall Street bow.

I daresay, Jordan Brand’s influence was even more critical to our bleeding hearts, because Michael Jordan got seriously in the game on the topic of racial justice post George Floyd’s May 2020 murder in Minnesota. That’s the focus of AOC’s future post on values and activism in Air Jordan and Jordan Brand.

Why Am I doing This Giant Freebie for Nike and Air Jordan?

The reason I’m delving into Air Jordans and Jordan Brand with this degree of passion is that we need businesses like Nike to stand with us in keeping American democracy alive. That’s another post.

When you watch the Nike reel on Thursday — 26.5 minutes of 30 seconds of Air Jordan ads over the years — you are looking at all the hope, talent, confidence, skill and fearless tactical brilliance that Michael Jordan brought to the basketball courts of America and into his entire life.

Our kids need Air Jordan as an example of American grit and determination to overcome not only COVID, but the drive to end American democracy and the disenfranchisement of million of voters of color.

Each of us is obligated to use our best skills to stop this march of Trumpism in America, and I EXPECT Nike to be in this game of American politics that has become a scary blood-sport.

I can’t think of a better tactical move to make this minute for Anne of Carversville, than to start bird-dogging Nike and Air Jordan. Regular readers expect us to bird-dog brands on sustainability.

Now we will be tracking brands taking a stand for “we the people politics” in America and worldwide.

Fasten your seat belts, because AOC intends to fly high in this new endeavor. We won’t fly into the sun — Icarus, we are not. But we will fly in the face of business. In the words of the great Muhammad Ali, we will “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

How Successful Is Michael Jordan? He's the GOAT!

16 years after playing his last professional basketball game, Michael Jordan out-earns every current NBA player in the sneaker income category. Earning $130 million from his Nike deal, Jordan made four times the No. 2 ranked LeBron James, who made $32 million in 2019.

Jordan is owner of the Charlotte Hornets. Assuming that Jordan leads the syndicate that owns the Hornets . . . Wait up; I’m wrong. Michael Jordan owns about 97 percent of the Hornets NBA team. Alright, then.

The NBA has many great players and when we survey sports athletes at large, of course boxing great Muhammad Ali steps into the spotlight. And NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who won his seventh Super Bowl in February 2021 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, does not lie down and play dead in GOAT rankings.

An April, 2021 YouGov study ranked which sports stars, alive or dead, are most likely to be considered the greatest. Study participants were asked to choose the “greatest of all time” between two athletes in a series of head-to-head matchups. Athletes were then rated based on their “win percentage,” that is, how often they won the head-to-head matchup when they were one of the two athletes shown.

In the new YouGov rankings, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan are tied for first place, each winning 78% of their matchups. Among American respondents who favor basketball, Jordan won 83% of the matchups. Among football fans, he won 82%. And so it goes. Michael Jordan, Jordan Brand, Air Jordan — are all stupendously influential forces in the worlds of business, marketing and personal identity.

In understanding the success of the Jordan brand, and its influence worldwide, we must understand that Jordan transcended the NBA. He put the NBA on his back and grew it into the global force it is today. Jordan’s influence is so massive — not only because of his skills — but because of his personality, his drive, his connection to people, his values.

We want to “Be Like Mike”

Note the music in the Gatorade commercial. It transcends America. Heck I expect Nelson Mandela to enter stage left any second. The commercial is deeply Black in its powerhouse influence on global culture and yet it transcends race.

That was Nelson Mandela’s approach, too — pure ubuntu. Mandela found that the power of Ubuntu, the inner core of every person's humanity, could move mountains.

Our young people don’t really know and understand the power of Nelson Mandela’s message. But they DO want to be like Mike. So do I. So should you. ~ Anne