Ad Nut
Nov 17, 2022

Jordan's 'Air Historian' chronicles 25 years of flight inspiration in China

What Mars Blackmon did for Air Jordan in the US, W+K Shanghai's new character does just as effectively in China, tapping comic, sports and cultural legends to celebrate the brand's raw inspirational power.

It's been 25 years since the Jordan brand entered China. While 'iconic' is overused as a brand descriptor, Jordan is one of the few that wears the term perfectly. It literally is the name of an icon, not just in sport, but a cultural icon, associated with relentless energy, drive and determination that ultimately sends one soaring. It's about as inspirational a brand as you can get. 

So how then to mark a quarter century of a shoe brand from an icon who permeates popular culture, inspires athletes and artists alike and unfailingly conjures up imagery of gravity defiance?

Enter the 'Air Historian', a character dedicated to chronicling the brand's past heritage as well as its current propensity to inspire many of China's top talents to take flight. Developed by Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai, the Air Historian is described as the de facto know-it-all for everything Jordan, residing in a museum/laboratory dedicated to Michael Jordan and his brand.

W+K says each of the six films he's featured in are a peek into his mind, where he draws wild connections that initially seem unrelated but eventually make sense. 

“We wanted to create a larger-than-life, charming, walking/talking Jordan encyclopedia. Since that person obviously doesn’t exist, we invented him," explains W+K associate creative director Nick Partyka. "This dude can convince you how a little sparrow is related to two-time CBL champion Guo Ailun or why bean sprouts are the perfect metaphor for Jony J’s meteoric rap career."

It's not all that hard to see where W+K and Jordan get the inspiration from either. Watching the Air Historian played by Chinese comedian Tong Monan together with the gritty footage of Michael Jordan blowing past defenders and sailing through the air gave Ad Nut the distinct feeling of having watched this before.

If you look at how W+K and Nike celebrated the brand's 50th earlier this year with its film 'Seen It All' (see below) bringing back Spike Lee in his Mars Blackmon for Air Jordans persona, you can see how well having a comic foil next to iconic footage works. Instead of taking itself too seriously with iconic footage and swelling music alone, the creatives involved help bring the past into present together by wrapping it all together as new entertainment. 

China's Air Historian series may borrow a formula, but it's a great example of applying it in the local market. The character uses Chinese metaphors, fables, and idioms to draw connections between the inspiration of Michael Jordan to a host of Chinese athletes and pop culture figures including Chinese professional basketball players Guo Ailun and Yang Shuyu, MoreFree the Chinese streetballer, Guo Yu the founder of a legendary sneaker shop, hip-hop dancer Nicky, skateboarder Xiaohei, rapper Jony J, and Edison Chen, the founder of CLOT.

Part of a larger brand campaign called 'Different Courts, Same Drive', the work is meant to share stories about everyone who shares Michael Jordan's hunger for greatness, no matter what court they play on. With this brand work, the thrust too is universal, but is playing out in social media courts across China. 

Source:
Campaign Asia

Related Articles

Just Published

17 hours ago

Agency Report Card 2024: Ogilvy

Ogilvy APAC celebrated a strong creative year in 2024, clinching top regional honours at Cannes Lions. Yet operational headwinds, particularly in China, tested its resilience and reshaped its growth strategy.

17 hours ago

Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards 2024: ...

Ogilvy and UM win global network of the year awards for creative and media respectively, while Special agency in New Zealand earns Asia-Pacific network of the year.

19 hours ago

Apple Watch’s heart story strikes a chord in Japan

Apple’s new Japan campaign tells the real-life story of a heavy metal fan whose Apple Watch alerts help detect a life-threatening heart condition just in time.

19 hours ago

2025 Cannes Contenders: RGA creatives weigh in

A ubiquitous surname, a sexually transmitted infection, the printing of memories and an animal god that helps gamers might all bring fame glory to campaigns in Cannes next week.