Man as metaphor

Thanks to Jerry Olson for sharing this Fast Company column about the movie Air, which focuses on how Nike made Michael Jordan a metaphor.

Nike created “airbag” technology for its shoes since the mid 1970s but this company, now known as one of the world’s great marketers, had no clue how to sell it. Runners, in particular, loved the cushioning effect, but they didn’t understand how it worked and Nike couldn’t figure out how to explain it.

But then Jordan’s agent got the idea of “marrying” his client with Nike’s technology. Nike no longer had to worry about marketing the technology. It was marketing a great athlete who used the technology – a much easier sell.  And Jordan, of course, was known for his high-flying dunks, which suggested a different spin on the word “air.”

Soon Nike wasn’t just marketing Jordan; it was marketing Jordan’s ethos.  Jordan played basketball like no one had before and seemingly stretched the limits of the human body’s capabilities.  Ever since then, Nike has encouraged us, in our own individual way, to do the same thing.

(This column also describes the somewhat disturbing cultural undertones of the Air Jordan. The author argues that it is an example of the white power structure making money off Black bodies, which is an unfortunate thread that runs through American history. So, it introduces some very complex ethical issues that are mind-bending when you start to think about them.)