Leveraging the huge success of the Jordan-focused ESPN docu-series ‘The Last Dance’, Jordan brand has rolled out a career wrap spot called ‘Community’ which opens with MJ’s historic 1988 NBA All-Star free-throw dunk, stars Jordan alongside a younger generation of brand ambassadors from sport and across the wider entertainment space and which seeks to show how basketball culture unites beyond far beyond the court.
Narrated by DJ Khaled, the film features a strong line up of Jordan brand ambassadors and friends from across the sport and entertainment space including Virgil Abloh, Carmelo Anthony, Mookie Betts, Luka Dončić, Billie Eilish, Blake Griffin, Aleali May, Rui Hachimura, Jim Harbaugh, Harlem Children’s Zone, Spike Lee, Les Twins, Tyrann Mathieu, Maya Moore, Kylian Mbappé, Nas, Chris Paul, Kia Nurse, Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Travis Scott, Nigel Sylvester, Teyana Taylor, Jayson Tatum, Michael Thomas, Kemba Walker, Russell Westbrook and Zion Williamson.
‘Commuinity’ runs as part of the brand’s ongoing ‘Unite’ film series which celebrates the unifying power of basketball and is based around the idea of a new generation coming together to create impact that goes beyond the game.
The first film, ‘Unite: Chapter One’, rolled out in September 2019 and it was directed by Adam Tillman-Young, narrated by North Carolina’s MC Rapsody and scored by the Dap-Kings. It introduces Jordan Brand family members, Rui Hachimura, Kia Nurse, Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson who appear alongside talented young athletes from all walks of life.
The message of this first film is central to the goals and beliefs of the Jumpman community – “Impossible Alone / Possible Together” and aims to act as a rallying cry for inspiring and empowering the next generation to never fly alone.
Other recent spots in the Unite series include a March 2020 film fronted by Neymar and a january video featuring (arguably) the NBA’s next megastar and new Jordan ambassador Zion Williamson.
The Unite platform also comes with a manifesto.
We are Jumpman.
Representing a higher standard everywhere we are, with an unapologetically fearless mindset.
We know that true “greatness” is more than a destination, it’s a journey.
On our flight,
We defy the gravity of everything that weighs us down.
No matter our goals,
We achieve success on our own terms,
And we never fly solo.
We stand before you, sharing a common belief:
Impossible alone, possible together.
Unite.
Outcome:
Generating 15m views since it was first posted across the brand’s social channels on 17 May, the social statistics suggest there is
plenty of interest in MJ’s brand as well as his career.
Comment:
The Nike owned Jordan brand isn’t an official sponsor of the show – the programme’s three official partners are State Farm, Facebook and Reece’s – but it is hard to describe this as a classic piece of ambush marketing. After all, ESPN’s ‘The Last Dance’ is part-produced by Jordan, focuses primarily on Jordan and features multiple close ups and mentions of various Nike/Jordan brand sneakers and of both the Nike logo and the Jumpman logo which are frequently in shot through all 10 episodes.
Indeed, the whole 10-part series is something of a masterclass in building a brand and in brand storytelling and there are plenty of lessons within it for sports marketers in terms of how to build a sports icon into a brand and a product by morphing a single-country sport and its leading young star into a global culture and entertainment phenomenon.
Nevertheless, the brand would have been missing a major opportunity if it completely sat out The Last Dance and this tactic of leveraging the docu-series with work which both looks back to the past and forward to the future seems a sensible approach.
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