Back in 1984 Nike signed an athlete ambassador deal with a young college player called Michael Jordan in a move that seismically shifted the sportswear space’s landscape and, in the year of His Airness’ 60th birthday the resulting Jordan Brand leveraged one of basketball’s biggest tentpole moments – 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend – to celebrate its values via a female-focused campaign film called ‘Beyond’.
Debuting during the NBA’s celebration of hoops and culture from 19 February, ‘Beyond: Every Step Is A Chance To Fly’ is a short brand film following the life of a young girl aspiring to become a professional basketball player.
Aspiring baller Kamaya Jones plays the lead role in a spot which runs to almost three minutes and which begins with a young girl’s discovery of the game of basketball before going on to chart her rise to stardom through a series of flashbacks and sporting achievements.
The spot, the brand’s first piece of work created with new agency Uncommon Creative Studio, was brought to life by an all-female team in front and behind the camera and ends with the copy line: “Every step is a chance to fly’.
The team was led by Uncommon Creative Director was Uncommon’s Sanam Petri, The production company was Object & Animal, the musical director was Teyana Taylor and the singer was Kaelynn Hayes (who, having risen to fame on TikTok with cover songs, repurposes Minnie Ripperton’s ‘Les Fleur’ which includes the fitting lyrics: “Inside every woman there’s a seed of a flower”).
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Who knew, back in 1984, that the North Carolina and Chicago Bulls guard would become the megastar who moved the needle in sportswear and sports marketing more than anyone who had come before him?
Who knew Nike’s decision not only to add him to its athlete ambassador stable, but also to create a signature shoe and then a signature sub brand for him would pay off quite as well as it has?
Last year saw the Jordan Brand bring in more than $5bn in revenue (and in 2020 a pair of the original Air Jordan 1s were sold at auction for $560,000).
2023, as Jordan celebrates his 60th birthday, is set to be a big year for the hoops icon and his businesses. After all, Amazon is soon set to release a film called ‘Air’ in which Ben Affleck and Matt Damon reunite as Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro and co-founder Phil Knight to tell the tale of the game-changing partnership between the athlete and Nike.
Plus, to coincide with the birthday, Jordan Brand is also running a series of initiatives, including giving $2.3m worth of community grant awards to 48 grassroots organisations across the US which are each helping create and support more equitable futures for Black people.
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