“No One Would Suspect Michael Jordan Doing These Things”: Spending $20 Million on Marketing Campaigns, MJ’s Cologne Commercials Had a Motive Behind Them

Michael Jordan entered the business pretty early in his career. Whenever someone talks about Michael’s business acumen it is impossible to leave out his Nike deal from where it all started. Over the course of his career and almost 2 decades in retirement, Michael has amassed around $2-3 billion in endorsements and from his Jordan brand. His off court investments and in turn overall earnings have made him the richest athlete in the world. 

Michael Jordan colognes was one of them. The Jordan brand enabled MJ to portray how he wanted people to look at him and express himself on the widest scale possible. In 1996, Michael went to different talk shows to promote his products. MTV’s One on One was another destination for him.

Cuban-American actress Daisy Fuentes played host of the show at the time. She talked about how Michael’s ad campaigns for the cologne range represented Michael himself as a person. Michael explained the mentality behind the making of those commercials. 

READ MORE: “The Good Grass!”: Michael Jordan Once Flaunted His $20 Million Perfume Collection with Charisma and Witty Sense of Humor

He said, “It’s a little different. Before, all my commercials that people see were basketball related. Well, this is related to the everyday life that I do. I mean from taking my kids to school, to shaving my head, to sitting with the dog and watching TV. And he’s taking my chair and I’m trying to get him out of my chair. You know, just driving along, singing a song in the car, where people do that very often. But yet, no one would suspect Michael Jordan doing these things. So when they first came to me about doing the simplest things of my daily activity, so yeah, that’s cool!”

Michael Jordan cologne campaign wanted to make them relatable to people. That was the vision and motive behind making Michael do what everyone does in their day to day life.

Michael Jordan Colognes wasn’t as big a success

Where Air Jordans remain undisputedly at the top, there were many other ventures which started in the Jordan brand which took flight but could not maintain the air time. When Michael released his cologne collection in 1996, it became the top selling perfume very quickly. Even though it did not remain a top selling product the mentality behind its’ campaign showed how MJ wanted his products to present how he is as a person without thinking much about the success.

Jordan Cologne earned over $40 million in sales in only the first seven weeks after spending $20 million in promotional campaigns. It was the top selling perfume in 1996. The Fragrance Foundation coined it the Men’s Fragrance Star of the Year and Men’s National Advertising Campaign of the Year. The cologne’s success was rapid and quick but also short lived. 

WATCH THIS STORY: Most expensive Air Jordans.

Very soon in the business, there were other top competitors with better products. When Michael retired, his cologne line also faded away with him. Not that people’s craze for MJ was any less, but it was just that his cologne wasn’t relevant anymore.