As the pre-eminent athlete and endorser for a generation, Michael Jordan’s fame is responsible for some portion of both Gatorade and Nike’s meteoric growth.
Gatorade’s “Be Like Mike” TV ad is considered one of the best athlete ads ever. Accordingly, it’s tough to imagine Gatorade reaching $4 billion in sales without an assist from Jordan, who signed as the brand’s first endorser in 1991.
Still, across the industry, the prevailing opinion is that the Nike/Jordan relationship is the most successful pairing of an athlete with a consumer product in history.
Agent David Falk cut both deals and he pointed out that Nike’s was more of a licensee than a straight endorsement,
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Michael Jordan’s fame took Nike and Gatorade to new heights.
Photo by: NBAE / Getty Images |
a license that led to the creation of the Air Jordan/Jordan Brand franchise, which now has sales approaching $3 billion.
“Gatorade was a strong brand, which Michael made more universal, but it had good market share before Michael,” Falk said. “Nike was No. 3 behind Converse and Adidas before Michael and they’ve been No. 1 since then. A dollar invested in Nike the day before Michael signed would be worth $2,600 today.”
Added Momentum Worldwide Chairman and CEO Chris Weil: “Jordan was one of the greatest things that ever happened to Gatorade, but for me, the thing that tips it for Nike is that it created an entire brand that lasted longer than Jordan did on the court — and the odds are that will continue.’’
As a former NFL Properties president and an entrepreneur who sold SoBe Beverage for $370 million to Pepsi, John Bello has expertise in both beverage marketing and sports marketing.
“If you mention Jordan and endorsements, almost anyone will think of Nike first, so that’s at the top of my list,” Bello said. “They made each other, to a degree. Now that Gatorade has so many endorsers, the athlete connection is a little muddled. And I could make a case that the NFL sidelines were more responsible for Gatorade’s success than anything else.”
