NBA stars swear by them, “sneakerheads” collect them and stores still sell out of them.
After 25 years, Nike will mark the anniversary of its popular Air Force 1 shoes by launching what the company claims is its biggest marketing campaign of the year.
Nike has a lot riding on the launch of the new Air Force 25 shoe and the updated version of its iconic predecessor.
After its debut in 1982, the Air Force 1 became hot on and off the basketball court and went on to become Nike’s most successful shoe franchise.
“It was a performance shoe that became a culture icon for the street,” said Joaquin Hidalgo, Nike’s global executive vice president. “It became a mainstay with the hip-hop community.”
Nike is well-known for pushing the marketing envelope, but executives said this campaign is even more far-reaching, spanning everything from traditional TV ads to a unique content deal with MTV.
The centerpiece of the so-called “Second Coming” campaign is a dream endorsement team that includes some of the biggest names in the NBA, including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker and Steve Nash.
This all-star roster appears in a series of print and TV ads, including a 60-second TV spot that shows them playing “the ultimate pickup game.”
The spot features one of two songs Nike commissioned just for the campaign, including a musical collaboration of the same name between Just Blaze and Juelz Santana.
Rappers Kanye West, Nas, Rakim and KRS-One came together on another track that was also performed live and aired on MTV as part of a televised “retrospective” of the Air Force 1.
