Michael Jordan: Encyclopedia II - Michael Jordan - Businessman

Michael Jordan - Businessman

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac and MCI. He first appeared on Wheaties boxes in 1988, and acted as their spokesman as well.

Nike created a signature shoe for him, called the Air Jordan. The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spat of "shoe-jackings" where young boys were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. The innovation of designer Tinker Hatfield spurred the basketball shoe industry to new heights. Subsequently Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own company named appropriately the "Jordan Brand." Athletes who endorse the company include basketball players such as Ray Allen, Michael Finley, Derek Anderson, Eddie Jones, Mike Bibby, Quentin Richardson, Richard Hamilton, and Carmelo Anthony. The "Jordan Brand" has branched out into other sports, with baseball players Derek Jeter and Andruw Jones and football players Marvin Harrison, Ahman Green, Jason Taylor, as well as boxer Roy Jones Jr., AMA Superstock & Supersport racer Montez Stewart. and jazz musician Mike Phillips as endorsers. The brand has also sponsored college programs such as North Carolina, Cincinnati, Cal, St. John's, Georgetown, and North Carolina A & T.

Beginning in 1991, Jordan appeared in ProStars, an NBC Saturday morning cartoon. The show featured Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson fighting crime and helping children.

Jordan has also been connected with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial in the 1993 Super Bowl where he and Bugs Bunny played basketball against some Martians inspired the 1996 live action/animated movie Space Jam, which also starred Michael and the Looney Tunes in a fictional story set during his first retirement. They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI.

After his second retirement, Jordan formed the MVP.com sports apparel enterprise with fellow sports greats Wayne Gretzky and John Elway in 1999. It fell victim to the dot-com bust, and the rights to the domain were sold to CBS SportsLine in 2001.

For many years, the NBA basketball player has been the real-life mascot for Nestlé Crunch, appearing on the products and in their advertising.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Businessman", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki