The world of streetwear and sporting apparel changed forever when Michael Jordan signed with Nike. This process is being documented in a movie called Air.
Advertisement
Michael Jordan was an avid Adidas fan, having worn their sneakers during his high school career. When he began playing college basketball for the Tar Heels, they were signed to a Converse shoe deal. Consequently, MJ wore the Magic-Bird brand during his NCAA years.
After his performance during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, it became amply clear that he’d be an NBA superstar. His breathtaking athleticism, speed and skill levels had wowed audiences from all over the world.
However, this wasn’t a time when the NBA had much commercial value. In fact, even NBA Finals games weren’t broadcast on live television by CBS. Tape-delayed games were the norm of the day for the league which was pretty much 4th among the major leagues.
Jordan was, at that point, still an unknown commodity without any established public presence. Before his Olympic gold medal, his biggest moment in the spotlight had been during the Tar Heels’ 1982 NCAA title run.
However, Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro deemed it fit to give Jordan the largest sneaker deal in sporting history. He convinced Nike’s founder and president Phil Knight to repose his faith in the 21-year-old. The movie ‘Air’ presents a deep dive into the proceedings.
Why is the movie Air rated R?
Given that the movie has not been released yet, we cannot point to concrete examples of why the movie received an R rating. However, we do know that the dialogues will be loaded with profanity.
Most marketing movies of this sort have heavily involved the usage of swear words and the like. The widely popular television series ‘Mad Men’ is a case in point for the same.
Directed by Ben Affleck, who plays the role of Phil Knight, the movie has largely had positive critics reviews. Rotten Tomatoes has given the movie a rating of 81%, while it’s average Metacritic score from 70 reviewers is 8.2/10.
The likes of Viola Davis (who plays Deloris Jordan) and Matt Damon (who reprises Sonny Vaccaro) have definitely had a significant impact on the marketability of the movie. Scheduled to release in theaters worldwide tomorrow, it’s expected to gross $16-18 million on its opening weekend.
