MWCB - "The Showdown"

The creators of the famed Michael Jordan and Larry Bird commercial were given full creative freedom to develop the iconic spot. Copywriter Jim Ferguson and Art Director Bob Shallcross, the top creative team at Leo Burnett Worldwide at the time, tossed ideas back and forth for days. They settled on the longest game of H-O-R-S-E ever, one in which the only thing at stake was who would eat the McDonald’s food Jordan had in his bag at the basketball arena. “It was a very simple idea, but in advertising, the simple ideas are usually the best,” Ferguson later said.

Within days of the Jordan-Bird commercial airing during the Super Bowl, the tagline “Nothing but Net” was cemented in pop culture. Kids across the country challenged each other to replicate the spectacular trick shots Jordan and Bird made look so easy.

A fun behind-the-scenes story: just prior to the commercial’s scheduled release, McDonald’s ran into an unexpected problem. Nobody at Leo Burnett had secured permission to use footage of the John Hancock Center, which was a big problem as Jordan and Bird shoot from the top of the 100-story Chicago skyscraper in the commercial’s closing sequence. The deal the agency eventually struck with the Hancock Center’s management highlights Jordan’s immense popularity in Chicago at the time. They could have simply said that using a photo of the building would cost $100,000, but instead, they settled on signed basketballs.

The striking outfit Michael wore that day and which was released along with the matching burgundy Air Jordan VII - the model he wore during the 1992 Olympic Games - hits you with 90s basketball flair like a right hook from Iron Mike.