Michael Jordan:
In 1984 Nike signed an endorsement contract with Michael Jordan. This contract allowed for Nike to model a shoe for Jordan which was called Air Jordan. The first Air Jordan's were red and black made specifically to match the Chicago Bulls uniform. However, the NBA banned players from wearing these shoes because they had too little white on them. Jordan wore the shoes anyway and his punishment for disobeying was a $5,000 fine for every time he stepped on the court with the shoes. Nike used this NBA ban to their advantage in order to promote the shoes. They said the real reason the shoes were banned was because they gave people an unfair boost in athletic ability for basketball. This drew a lot of attention towards the shoe and soon every kid who played basketball wanted a pair so they could be just like Jordan. Making Jordan the face of their new footwear line was a "shoe-in" for success.
The Beatles:
In 1987 the Nike Air Max shoe was released. This shoe was special for being the first Nike shoe to show the air technology bubble used in the shoe. To increase sales Nike made a commercial that featured a Beatles song in it. The song was called Revolution and this was the first time a Beatles song was used in a commercial. This commercial really helped with the sales of Air Max because of how popular the Beatles were at the time. People would link the Beatles and Nike together in their heads making the shoe even more popular.
Bo Jackson:
In 1989 Nike created a commercial for their new Cross Trainers that featured Bo Jackson. He was the first athlete to play both baseball and football in the same year proving he was an all around athlete. Jackson was the perfect athlete to represent the face of Nike's new shoe. The commercial helped to get across the idea that the shoes were made for all sports.