: Retired from the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan’s still on the first team in the game of endorsements.
According to a 2010 study of the top sports brands and athletes, Michael Jordan earns over 30 million from endorsements deals alone, despite the fact that he has not played a game of basketball since 2003.
According to a 2010 study of the top sports brands and athletes, Michael Jordan earns over 30 million from endorsements deals alone, despite the fact that he has not played a game of basketball since 2003.
It is even more remarkable when one considers Jordan has not won an NBA MVP award (given to the league’s most valuable player) since the 1997-1998 basketball season.
The three major companies that are the reason for Jordan’s continuing legacy and brand are Nike, Gatorade, and Hanes.
While everyone associates Nike and Gatorade with sports, it’s the Hanes brand that keeps Jordan in commercials the most often, and allows viewers to see the more human side of Jordan.
“We use Michael in a different way than Nike or Gatorade does,” said David Robertson, the director of marketing for Hanes. “They use him as the basketball player, we’ve always used him as the person and we’ve found that his stardom transcends the game.”
Being able to see Michael Jordan the person, as opposed to Michael Jordan the athlete has been critical for Hanes’ success. “Michael’s appeal is extraordinary,” stated Sidney Falken, the senior vice president of Hanes. “He is able to appeal to such a wide range of people, men and women, young and old.”
The fact that Jordan has appeared in over 25 commercials for Hanes the past 20 years speaks volumes to the strong relationship that Hanes has built with Jordan.
It speaks even more volumes when one thinks of the fact that as of 2010, Michael Jordan was voted as the United States’ second favorite athlete of all time. “If you think about the fact that Michael could have endorsed any product he wanted and he stayed with us, that’s a pretty powerful statement,” Falken said.
There is no questioning the stardom and the popularity that is Michael Jordan. While Michael made his mark on the basketball court, the fact that it was, and still is, felt on the endorsement market really speaks volumes to the type of person and player that Jordan really is.
The statement, “Michael Jordan was the greatest endorser of the 20th century,” by Nike president Phil Knight only beings to scrape the surface of Jordan’s appeal to the American people.
From the Gatorade advertisement slogan of “Be like Mike” to his still famous “Air Jordan” shoe brands from Nike, it has been impossible the last 20 years for one to not be influenced in some way by the great Michael Jordan.
No comments:
Post a Comment