Shoe Dog

In describing Nike’s origins, Knight leans heavily on its commitment to innovation and competitiveness—e.g., his decision to place large orders with Onitsuka against the wishes of his bankers. This drive to succeed was one that some of the brand’s earliest celebrity proponents shared. Steve Prefontaine, for example, departed from conventional wisdom by running at the front of his races rather than sticking with the pack and saving his energy for a final “kick.”

These themes—Breaking Rules in Order to Succeed and The Desire for Victory as Nike’s Binding Spirit—would continue to feature heavily in Nike’s marketing in the years after the company went public. A major turning point in the brand’s history was its 1984 contract with Michael Jordan, then a rookie basketball player. Jordan’s adoption of the shoes resulted in a game-changing marketing campaign when the NBA allegedly banned Air Jordans for violating the dress code. While there is some question as to whether the shoes Jordan wore were in fact Air Jordans—and whether he ever had to pay a $5,000 fine for wearing them, as Nike claimed—the shoes became iconic in large part because Nike capitalized on the pushback (Ponsford, Matthew.