“What if Michael Jordan and Nike hadn’t rewritten sneaker history?” It’s not a question, but Swoosh’s latest campaign to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Jordan brand. If people back in the day missed the true excitement levels of MJ’s shoes, then the latest campaign encapsulates it perfectly. 40 years later, after the first Air Jordan 1s launch, the company is ‘banning’ the shoes. All people at the workplace received a citation, including the ‘Godfather’ of Nike.

“Not even Jordan Brand’s Senior Vice President Howard White is safe from the Nike-wide Jordan ban 😅 The roll-out for the “Bred” Air Jordan 1 ’85 has been incredible 😂.” A carousel post, where White received a citation in the first picture. He was holding the ticket, which stated ‘violation’ issued by Jordan Security Services (not real). In the second picture, even his shoes were blacked out digitally, as they are promoting the banned Michael Jordan shoe.

As stated previously, it started by masking the shoe from the statue outside the United Center. Even on the website, Nike has cleverly covered up any appearances of Air Jordan 1s. Plus, the staff at their HQ got the tickets as well. A ‘compliance officer’ identified as ‘Officer Roprano’ in the clips has been handing out receipts to anybody wearing the iconic shoes. The official is obviously wearing white shoes, which the league allowed at the time.

“This citation confirms and verifies that a certain Jordan basketball shoe violates rules and procedures enacted on or around October 18, 1984 by the NBA. They are prohibited at Nike World Headquarters.” The company also gave tickets to the VP and the person who created the legacy system, in addition to the employees. At least, the employees don’t have to pay the fine, like Nike had to back in the day.

A $5000 fine led to a $7 Billion revenue for the Michael Jordan brand

The rules stated that 51% of the shoes should be white. Since the Michael Jordan shoes were in Bulls’ colorway of Red and Black, it caused issues. The league quickly fined the Swoosh brand $5,000, for every time MJ would wear the shoe on the court. It was enough incentive for Nike as they were happy to pay the fine, and the curiosity around the shoe started growing. That curiosity has led Michael Jordan to earn $7 Billion in revenue as of 2024. Don’t forget, the 6x NBA champion reportedly earns 5% of those sales as royalty.

That’s why even the employees are getting citations, which is just another marketing ploy. At the bottom of the citation is a notice informing the receiver of a gift card. “Violators are encouraged to apply the enclosed gift card towards the purchase of compliant footwear, or, if you are not gonna let a little ban stop you, towards the purchase of a pair of Jordans.”

Not sure the VP, Howard White, would need the gift card. In fact, some people feel this has been over-the-top marketing, and don’t find it entertaining one bit. But it’s obvious the campaign is leaving the mark, even though they are hiding the shoes.