There you are in your living room, watching the new style Oklahoma City Thunder team playing. Then the game goes on commercial and to your delight the star player of the Thunder is the first thing you see. Head straight, staring intensely and you are wondering to yourself what could this marvelous commercial mean? By looking deeper into what goes on in the commercial, one can see how the Jordan brand is advertised, and even see how its elements work to accomplish this. This can be accomplished by looking at the little things that occur throughout the video.

The very first thing that the Jordan brand wants the viewers to see is just how intense this new shoe is that is coming out. Not only do they use one of the most intense basketball players in the sport, Russell Westbrook, they also show a close up of his face. Why would they do that? Well not only does Westbrook play ferociously, but he has the look of animal on his face every time he steps onto the hardwood. Think of all the emotions that arise within when your parent gives you a scowl for a wrong doing. Think of how deeply just a simple look impacted you all in that instance. Now put an equally demanding, intentional look staring you right in the face. Wouldn’t that impact the viewer in the same kind of way? So essentially the commercial is saying, that you too could be as intense as the whirlwind of a player by using these specific shoes. They even put the shoes on Westbrook’s feet to inspire you to want to be more like him. 

The next piece of the commercial features Russell Westbrook acting on his intenseness and shows the man taking off the way he does for a dunk. So by having the shoe on Russell now the commercial is trying to state that if you wear these specific Jordan’s then you will be able to take off and be as intense as Russell Westbrook. The commercial doesn’t stop there though. They even exaggerate the extent at which Russell is able to leap by not only having him jump from the free throw line, but also having him jump down a runway that has the numbers twenty-three into the sky. All the while the sound of a jet can be heard taking off. This is to visually symbolize Jordan’s slogan/branding “take flight” as well as to pay homage to the major athlete of the brand Michael Jordan as he was number twenty-three. While also to symbolize that when you put these shoes on you won’t just jump, you will really fly like a jet plane. The slogan “take flight” then ties into the incredible leaping ability of the athletes who wear these shoes, such as Michael Jordan, Russell Westbrook and many more. So once more you can see a common theme that the commercial is utterly throwing right into their audiences faces. This being that if you wear this shoe, you can be this intense, you can take flight, fly, and jump this high! It makes it seem like everyone can be just like their most beloved and favorite athletes.

Another purpose of this commercial aside from the normal promotion of the brand’s shoe is the promotion of the athlete. Now many people may or may not know about Russell Westbrook’s previous running mate Kevin Durant. The two were an unstoppable force, but with Kevin on the same team as Russell there were going to be issues with who should take the last shot, who should handle the ball, etc. So many saw the two holding each other back from reaching their fullest potential. So what does the new Jordan commercial do as soon as the two teammates are no longer on the same team?

This commercial puts Russell Westbrook, whom many thought was being held down by Kevin Durant taking off of a runway. This is a play on the idea that now that Russell Westbrook is on the team by himself he is cleared for takeoff. No more having to cede that last shot to his teammate, no more having to question if he is the alpha male, because it is his time to go off and be great on his own. Not only does the commercial say this visually but it also audibly makes this clear at the end of the commercial. “Some run, some make runways” is a direct shot at Kevin Durant. As many people thought that Kevin was running off after he joined the team he nearly beat to make it to the NBA finals. Meanwhile, Russell chose to stay and pave his own path (the runway) to success (the action of flying off). So many view Kevin Durant as a coward now and what most cowards do is run. So the commercial by saying some run is referring to Kevin Durant who happens not be signed to deal with Jordan but rather Nike. So don’t be like the Nike wearing Kevin Durant, be like the Jordan wearing Russell Westbrook who makes the most of opportunities, “some make runways”!

In closing, this commercial has many, many points within it. Most of these points are aimed at getting the audience to want to wear Jordan brand sneakers because Russell Westbrook wears Jordan brand sneakers. Meanwhile, the commercial also subtly tells the audience not to wear Nikes as you could be like the man that was holding Russell Westbrook back from reaching the stars! Either way you look at the commercial there is no way you would be able to conceive the idea that it is not aimed at advertising the Jordan brand, after all what is even better than promoting yourself is putting another brand down. When you watch, and listen to the commercial it becomes clear it captivates you by hitting your senses with loud, intense sounds and motions. It literally forces you to at least consider buying the shoe that Russell Westbrook has on his feet.
