JP’s Pick: “Hare Jordan”
Nike’s “Hare Jordan” commercial first premiered during Super Bowl XXVI on January 26, 1992. The Buffalo Bills were on the verge of losing their second straight Super Bowl, in one of the most uninteresting football games in history. The lackluster game was a sign of the times as basketball was quickly surpassing football in global popularity. In the early 90’s, swarms of younger generations began turning to basketball for its fast-paced flash and larger-than-life player personalities. And at the center of this round ball resurgence stood one man above all others. MJ. Number 23. His Airness. Mr. Michael “Air” Jordan.
This innovative new spot from Nike featured Michael Jordan at the height of his popularity, with an animated Bugs Bunny, in what was one of the first commercials to ever mix live action with animated cartoon characters. Many attributed the popularity of the ad to the feelings of childhood it evoked in viewers. It created a pleasant, fantastical escape at a time when most Americans were stressing over the recession.
I was 12-years-old at the time (three days away from my 13th birthday). I didn’t know much about recessions or nostalgia. To me, the spot was just a perfect culmination of two worlds: the childhood cartoons I grew up watching (and was secretly still watching), and basketball, which represented everything that was cool at that age. Every year I would collect all of my birthday money, in order to shell out $125 on the newest pair of Nike Air Jordan’s. It was a hefty price tag, but well worth the “cool points” that came with being the first kid in school to show up with these prized possessions on my feet.
Hare Jordan certainly wasn’t the greatest spot of all time, but it’s a commercial I always remember fondly because it reminds of a time when life was wonderfully simple. It reminds me of Saturday morning cartoons, Cap N’ Crunch with Crunch Berries, snow days, pancakes for dinner, riding my bike, Super Mario Bros., Michael Jordan and all the other things that felt so important at age 12.