AIR: Movie vs Real Life

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It seems really obvious in hindsight, sports stars are naturals when it comes to selling sports equipment and really just about anything else. That would be especially true for a player who would arguably go on to become the Greatest Of All Time like Micheal Jordan. But hindsight’s vision is sharper than when in the moment and the concept of building an entire shoe around a single player was unheard of much less cutting that player in on a piece of the sales of the shoes bearing his name. The final deal was the result and hard negotiating on the part of sports marketer Sonny Vaccaro, Nike head of Marketing Rob Stresser, sports agent David Falk and one Dolores Jordan, mother of Michael Jordan. The story of how a fledgling Nike undercut then giants Adidas and Converse and signed the deal that changed athlete endorsement forever, made Nike the predominant sports brand, and Jordan a billionaire is told in the new biopic Air featuring Matt Damon and directed by Ben Affleck. But just how much of what made it on screen lines up with what happened in real life? Was David Falk really that determined to prevent Jordan from even hearing a Nike deal? Did Vaccaro really go around Falk to talk to Jordan’s mother? Who did really come up with the name ‘Air Jordan’? We delve into the differences between fact and fiction in the quest to bring the Nike Air into existence as well as provide some of the real world context. What generation was your first pair of Nike Airs? Let us know in the comments and while you’re there be sure to like and subscribe for the latest videos in your inbox.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro
0:21 Three Sides to Every Story
1:32 Sonny and Jordan
2:13 Mrs Jordan and Falk
3:10 More Money
3:56 Rob Strasser
5:08 Naming Rights
5:57 Closing the Deal
6:23 Matter of Time
6:57 Adidas
7:46 My Adidas

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Written by: Ryan Carbrey
Narrated by: Max Lichtig
Edited by: B.

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