In 1985, Michael Jordan played an exhibition game in Italy in front of a few thousand fans. This is the untold Air Jordan story.
In 1985, Michael Jordan played an exhibition game in Italy in front of a few thousand fans. During that game, he dunked with such authority that the backboard shattered and "it was raining glass" on the court. The legend of that game was passed around from court to court.
In 2016, Jordan Brand developed an all-new orange and black colorway for the Air Jordan I and Air Jordan XXXI, based on the jersey MJ wore during the game. This campaign celebrates the legacy of Michael’s dunk and uncovers the untold story of the shattered backboard.
Many fans in America knew about Michael’s dunk but never saw it. The launch film in the campaign used newly unearthed footage of the game, as well as interviews with players and fans who were there, to show the impact one moment can have on a country’s love for basketball.
Marco Materazzi is one of the greatest soccer players in Italy's storied history and was impacted as a child by the backboard-shattering dunk. In the second film of the campaign, we explored his connection to the Jordan Brand, which extends beyond borders and sports.
Following the video portion of the campaign, additional paid posts across the Jordan social platform drove consumers to the product and bouyed storytelling. All told, the "Shattered Backboard" campaign earned over 7.9M video views, 2.3M engagements, 45.5M impressions, and 17.1K link clicks to the product page on Nike.com. At the end of 2016, the film (as it appeared on Nike's Instagram account) was named the most engaging Instagram post of the year by Ad Age.
Facebook Ad Reporting measured a 9.71% lift in brand recall during the campaign. Jordan Brand also distributed our content across Chinese social channels, Nike digital platforms, and in-store in Europe, resulting in ~30M additional video views. The Air Jordan XXXI exceeded sales expectations globally, and the limited edition Air Jordan I colorway sold out nearly instantly worldwide.
ROLES
Co-Director and Senior Copywriter - Michael Taylor
Co-Director - John Petrina
Video Editing - Patrick Weishampel
Strategy - Nick Sheingold
Account Management - Blair Wheadon
Photography - Everett Bouwer