Construction

X-treme Soap commercial storyboard pg 1

X-treme Soap commercial storyboard pg 2

What is this advertisement trying to sell? My product is soap.

What feelings is it trying to create? The feeling I was trying to create in this ad was a feeling of "cool," a feeling of "I need this because I live life in the fast lane."

What audience is the ad targeting? My target audience is male audience. I was going more for the sporty, active type of male.

Deconstruction

Spike Lee (Mars Blackmon) and Michael Jordan teamed up in a series of successful ads, Jordan’s popularity only intensified, as did the value of his sneakers. Blackmon was now seen in stylish black and white ads, looking on in awe as Jordan performed spectacular shots, dunks, and maneuvers. The bulk of the ads saw Blackmon trying to figure out just what allowed His Air-ness to master gravity and outshine his opponents so effortlessly. Blackmon’s number one suspicion: “It’s gotta be the shoes.” Air Jordans became the premiere sneaker to have. Costing more than $100 (or more) in 1989, the shoes became a new marker of status among sneaker-wearers. And while some could only look on with thinly veiled jealousy at the Jordan-haves, other Jordan have-nots began to take a more proactive approach to improving their wardrobe. Thefts, assaults, even occasional murders were reported as resulting from conflicts over the shoes. Being killed for one’s Jordans, in fact, came to represent a new watermark in “inner city” violence and moral degradation.

The introduction of the Air Jordan I turned the athletic shoe industry upside down. Before the AJ I, most basketball shoes were white, but the bold black and red styling of the Jordan I flouted this convention. The NBA banned the shoe from the league in response, but Jordan wore them anyway, racking up serious fines of up to $5000 a game. Nike, of course, was more than happy to pay these to keep the shoes on Jordan's feet and in the public eye. All this controversy and Jordan's spectacular numbers that year served to put the Air Jordan line on the road to becoming a household name. The Jordan IV was even featured in director Spike Lee’s movie Do The Right Thing. Apparently, the director really liked these shoes and decided to show his allegiance to them by giving the Jordans a cameo. In the movie, one of the characters has his new Air Jordan IV shoes scuffed by a bicyclist. He places his shoe upon a fire-hydrant and cleans it with a toothbrush.

Mars Blackmon Commercial 1
Mars Blackmon Commercial 2
Jordan XXI Commercial
Nike Running Ad

Shmack Clothing Ads