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As the running shoe phenomenon was slowly dying in early 1984, Nike needed to reinvent themselves in order to succeed in other segments of the market.
At this time rookie player Michael Jordan preferred Adidas or the Converse shoes and hoped to sign up with one of this companies. Believing that Jordan´s appeal generates sales Nike offered to create a completely new line of shoes called "Air Jordans". Only few companies were willing to risk so much of their marketing budget for promotion through one athlete.
Nike though saw something special in Michael Jordan. He was a champion with personalitiy, charisma and heart. Jordan would be a star and Nike wanted to help him to get there.
After persuasion from his manager and parents, the reluctant Jordan agreed to join a presentation at Nike´s headquarters in Portland, Oregon. The presentation featured some clips of his high-flying Olympic moves and sketches of the Air Jordan 1 shoes. But Jordan seemed disinterested and bored. He is reported to have said: "I can't wear that shoe, those are Devil colors".
But as he left the meeting he said to his agent: "Let´s make the deal". Nike signed Jordan to a $2.5 million deal for 5 years.
Designer Peter Moore created the first Air Jordan Logo: a basketball with wings lifting it. The introduction of the Air Jordan I turned the athletic shoe industry upside down since most basketball shoes before were white. The bolt black and red styling of the Jordan I would change this convention. Altough the NBA banned the shoe Jordan wore them anyway and Nike was willing to pay fines up to $ 5000 a game just to keep the shoes on Jordan´s feet and in the public eye.
The combination of controversy and Jordan´s spectacular performance put the Air Jordan on the road to becoming one of the most popular basketball shoes.
In 1987 the Jordan logo changed to the familiar Jumpman logo of today. With the designing process of the Air Jordan III new Designer Tinker Hatfield was the first asking Jordan´s opinion resulting in a three-quarter cut basketball shoe made of high quality, lighter than average materials. This unusual approach to the process of designing led the Air Jordan III to rocket off the charts with its popularity.
In 1997 Jordan became its own sub-brand of Nike and with the release of the Air Jordan XIII, Jordan Brand products no longer showed wether the Nike name nor Nike Swoosh. Since their creation in 1985 Air Jordan shoes have consistently been among the best selling basketball shoes world wide.
The success of this household name can be attributed to the fact that designers take Jordan´s ideas, hobbies and life account to incorporate these feelings into the shoes. This might be one of the reasons why people of all ages and social strata still eager to get the latest model. Some wonder when the Air Jordan line will disappear but many bet that the brand and its tradition of quality, high-fashion basketball and athletic shoes will continue long after Air Jordans have retired.
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