Michael Jordan 'Banned' Commercial

How it all began. While the surfaces of the commercial appear quite standard (a player and his shoes), even the first installment of the Air Jordan advertising saga incorporated a subversive message discussing how the NBA banned these shoes weeks after they were introduced.
This unorthodox approach to selling the shoes will become the hallmark of the Air Jordan campaign further down the line. We see that from the beginning, Nike was establishing this brand by flexing not only its star power, but also the creative muscle behind the campaign. While the ad may seem quite tame, its tone set the stage for perhaps one of the most successful product launches in the history of retail, building a hero, a brand, and a company all built around one man.