Flying Beyond Boundaries

      In 1984, Nike released the Air Jordan 1 shoe, a basketball shoe that has become iconic in the decades since. They were the first signature shoe of Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player of all time and face of many different aspects of culture. This ad shows a person in flight wearing these shoes, with distinct brand placement on the person’s socks and with the Jordan logo beneath the words. This print advertisement is not only a motivator to purchase these shoes, but also a statement about cultural and racial roles in sports and society as a whole.

      Using a semiotic analysis, this advertisement elicits breaking boundaries and jumping into the future. It depicts a starkly ordinary sky with a basketball player’s legs and shoes protruding from the ordinary background. Basketball is a game involving lots of jumping, so an ability to jump high or fly is extremely advantageous. The person depicted is jumping off the page and flying through the sky, something extraordinary amidst an ordinary background. For grounded humans, the sky represents a boundary, or a limit of humanity. However, this ad shows that with the correct footwear, an individual can be superhuman, breaking boundaries of what is possible. This idea is further supported by the fact that the face of the individual cannot be seen, showing how this person could be the reader of the text. The supporting words of “Who said man was not meant to fly,” are phrased not as a question, but as a definitive statement. This changes the meaning of the words to Nike in a sense saying “we said man can fly,” and also that man actually can fly. It is not a question. Beyond jumping and basketball, this statement is about breaking boundaries and defying norms.

       Beginning at this time, basketball shoes became hugely popular and pieces of culture beyond just athletic wear, a process aided greatly by the Jordans depicted. Not only were shoes becoming an image of sports culture, more specifically they became a large component of black culture. This idea is aided by the person depicted having black legs as opposed to another race. For a young African-American looking at this ad, it elicits thoughts of becoming the next Michael Jordan, or the next great black man that can defy the limits of society. The black man flying in this picture is not limited by the condition of his humanity, rather he is superhuman and defying the odds of what is thought to be possible. This is a direct statement about the role of African-Americans in society. Not only that, the advertisement is situated in an era where blacks are beginning to make their identity seen in sports. Transcendent stars who represented sports and culture like Michael Jordan were faces of the black community and of progress. Progress shown by the man in the ad jumping forward on the page, in a left to right manner. Moreover, the red and black colors of Jordan’s signature shoe are symbolic of defiance and cultural change. Popular basketball footwear at the time almost solely included white sneakers, with white Converse being the class of the basketball shoe industry. These dark and different shoes created not only a new sense of style, but also were a sign of defiance. Black and red were bold colors of difference, change, and overall were now symbolic of black identity. Not only does this ad attempt to sell a cool pair of shoes, it makes a grand statement of defiance, societal limits, identity, and forward progress characterized by the black athlete of the 1980s.
      The simple words of “Who said man was not meant to fly,” are resounding and profound black letters amidst a gentle and calm sky depiction. This bolded claim points directly to the identity of African-Americans in sports and sports figures, as well as their role and identity within a greater society. We see similar, pervasive issues today with things like the national anthem protests in the NFL. This type of defiance is not new to athletics and athletic advertising, as sports represent a concentrated microcosm of overall society.

Nike’s most recent polarizing advertisement campaign features Colin Kaepernick, and a mention of believing in something even if it means sacrificing everything. The rebellious and socially aware advertising spirit, started by Nike during their rise to popularity with the Air Jordan 1’s discussed, has continued even to this day. In other words, sports, including clothing and advertisement are and will continue to be a voice for identity in society.