In 1984, the Chicago Bulls drafted Michael Jordan with the third pick in the draft. Many fans and basketball experts thought he would be special, but few staked so much on their analysis as Nike marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro.
The Nike of 1984 wasn’t the Nike that we know today. The company was built on running shoes, not basketball shoes. The market for basketball shoes was largely dominated by Converse and Adidas. Converse had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Nike wanted to grow their basketball market share, and they knew they needed to sign some rising NBA stars to help elevate the brand.
“Air,” released earlier this year, tells the story of how Vaccaro (played by Matt Damon) became obsessed with signing Jordan to Nike, despite incredibly long odds. Jordan had zero interest in signing Nike. He was choosing between Converse and Adidas. And his agent, David Falk (Chris Messina), had no interest in helping Nike even get a meeting.
Riding the wave of his championship with the Cavs and his epic block against Andre Iguodala and the Golden State Warriors, Lebron James and Nike are out with a new ad that relishes that moment.
Tennis start Maria Sharapova was recently hit with a two-year ban by the International Tennis Federation, but Nike is sticking with the sexy Russian player even as other brands have distanced themselves from her. It’s an interesting move by Nike as it’s showing loyalty that might help them with other athletes.
The huge rivalry between Nike and Adidas will play out at the 2016 Euro tournament that started yesterday. The amount of buzz and money on the line is staggering for these sneaker and sports brands with a tournament of this size. The video above gives a rundown of the rivalry in the context of this tournament.
With Lance Armstrong, however, everything is much more complicated, because he is so much more than just a great athlete. His devotion to the fight against cancer makes him an iconic figure, and many of his fans will continue to support him. Nike and other brand sponsors are sticking by him.
Armstrong was known for being a fighter, but he gave up here as he was facing ten former teammates who were prepared to testify against him. He release a statement attacking the USADA, and he may have some points about the “vendetta” against him. But in the end, his unwillingness to face his accusers speaks volumes.
Comments Off on Lance Armstrong stripped of his Tour de France titles
