Shlep D-O Double Gizzle's Web Pizzle

Return of Mars

So yes, the other day I was watching MTV, when all of a sudden an old Nike commercial came on. Before five seconds had passed, I was 10 years old again. Mars Blackmon (played by Spike Lee) and Michael Jordan joining forces one more time to sell shoes. Mars was one of my heroes growing up. A little Bangla boy like me had no hope of reaching Jordan's status, but Mars, with his oversized clothing, big glasses and endearing superfanatic attitude, got to HANG OUT with Michael, and he didnt even have to bust his ass on the court. I was sucked into the mega-marketing machine, but I dont think I mind even now. Mars gave me an avenue to relate to the superhuman athletes I watched on TV. So while I never did buy a pair of overpriced Jordan's, all of a sudden commercial watching became a necessary past-time to sports watching.

We didnt know it at the time, but as pre-teens who were coming of age during Michael Jordan's ascendancy, we were witnessing a revolution in sports marketing. On the court, Jordan was on the cusp of moving from really really good to demi-god status. Off of it, the global Jordan brand was also about to hit the stratosphere. Sure, athletes had always endorsed products and clever athlete commercials go back to the '60s and '70s. But with Michael Jordan and Nike, the athlete shoe commercial became a fixture in pop culture. Jordan's mix of athletic accomplishment, charisma and crossover appeal turned him from the best basketball player ever to one of the most recognized humans on the planet. Nowadays, we expect shoe and sports drink commercials to wow us, but back then no one really saw it coming.

So, big ups to Nike for this wonderful piece of nostalgia, I may or may not buy Nike's now but hey...I love the commercials.