Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul is coming under fire for appearing to minimize the role Michael Jordan played in Jordan Brand being the massive success that it is today. On his Game Over podcast, Paul explained how Nike and Gatorade helped create the greatest athlete brand ever.
“Michael Jordan had two really, really, really great partners,” Paul said. “One in Nike, of many, but these are two I chose, and the other one in Gatorade. Now, from a marketing perspective, they told two of the greatest stories. Nike Air. I believe I can fly. If you put these shoes on, they had people jumping off garages.”
Co-host Max Kellerman said he had a pair of Jordans growing up, and Paul asked him if he thought he could fly. The answer was yes.
“From a Gatorade perspective, it was the fuel to win,” Paul stated. “And it was Gatorade that created the lullaby, ‘Like Mike, if I could be like Mike.’… So what’s the importance in those two things? Not only is it the product of hydration, the product of footwear, etc, it’s also the media spin to really push these campaigns… At a time where we didn’t have social media, people didn’t have computers in their house in abundance.
“There wasn’t much,” Paul continued. “You had sports, and he was at the forefront of it. Then you have the NBA. Like all eyes on me, all eyes on Mike. It was clear. It was him, and it was everybody else. There was no ifs, ands, and buts about that.”
Paul believes timing was another factor that worked in Jordan’s favor. He stated that a show like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air gave birth to the first influencers. Will Smith wearing Jordan’s on the show further added to its popularity. It’s not Jordan who was doing that, but an “influencer.”
“When you talk about what they call product seating or product placement, what they did extremely well was every guy who was somebody on a show, they placed the product,” Paul said. “So you couldn’t see it on Instagram. So where did you see it?
“Oh, I saw on this episode of The Fresh Prince or this episode of Martin, and then you heard it in the music,” Paul continued. “Oh, and then on my way to school… I did get to see, in my case, my uncle Lance or Bernard Sawyer. I mean there’s different people that in my neighborhood that had [Jordans]. So now I’m influenced by that, and I love Michael Jordan.
“So now I want [Jordans] not only because Mike is wearing them, but I also want because these guys are wearing them too,” Paul added. “And when you created that, that’s how he created the greatest athlete brand ever because Michael Jordan didn’t share the market. He controlled the market. There’s a difference between the two. Most athletes have a market share. He controlled the market.”
Previously, Paul had also spoken about the real reason people wear Jordans. He stated that not everyone wanted to be like Jordan. A half did, but the other wanted to be like that guy who has a BMW and a cute woman, and was wearing Jordans. It was a status symbol of sorts.
Paul made it clear later in the episode that he was not trying to diminish Jordan. That is how many have taken it, though.
The counterpoint to all of this, of course, would be that if Jordan wasn’t actually as good as he was, winning six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles, no one would have bothered with his shoes, no matter how they were marketed. Ultimately, he is the reason why the brand is as big as it is today.
