I see Tinker is using MJ's stylist now too...
Or
Tyson Chandler's stylist...
Ridiculous.
These guys went from Air Jordan I, banned by the NBA, to Michael Jordan's cargo pants 2012... banned by a country club in Florida.
Nike marketing in 1989 would've had an absolute field day with this. It's too perfect: senior citizens decked out in hipster gear desperate to prove that they're still "with it." Wearing a backpack to an Instagram press conference? Like 4realz? OMG!
It's like watching Paul McCartney trying to cover 2 Chainz.
The rebel thing isn't working anymore. They're old. They're rich. They're complacent.
For years now, they've repackaged the status quo, increased the price, and tried to sell it as "innovation." For Michael Jordan the player, reaching the pinnacle meant working even harder to keep his many challengers at bay. The Jordan Brand, however, has grown fat and indolent. It's a sad sight.
This product used to be the flagship for the entire industry.
Think about how consumer electronics have evolved since 1985, how cars have evolved since 1985. Now compare that to basketball shoes. There's a reason why we're seeing the same shoes we saw in 1998. Nobody's bothered to raise the bar since then. The new challenge isn't building a
better product, but building a more
profitable one.
I'm calling it now: the Air Jordan XXIX will be the first shoe that Tweets while you wear it. Or perhaps it'll use an integrated camera to upload WDYWT pics of itself to tumblr. Kids still like tumblr, right?
What Star Wars is to entertainment, Jordan Brand is for footwear. They continue to pile mediocrity atop an increasingly obscured legacy that's quickly losing its relevance and appeal. With each cynical, calculated cash-in, fans are left to wonder if indeed their breakthrough success was ever anything more than a fluke or a product of a bygone era.
It no longer speaks to me and many of the young people I know are really struggling to understand why we ever thought this stuff was cool to begin with.
Their sycophantic media
partners won't say it, but I will:
Competition brought out the best in Michael Jordan the athlete. The lack of competition has brought out the worst in Michael Jordan the
brand.