Not just a sneaker

How Nike's Air Jordan line forever changed the landscape of sports marketing, creating a template for athlete-brand partnerships

- Mohit Hira

In the quarter-century I have spent in advertising and marketing, Nike has been more than a sneaker. It was an envied brand with inspirational advertising that was often pinned up on softboards, and whose 'Just Do It' sign-off remains part of everyday vocabulary.

In recent years, while smaller brands and a resurgent Adidas have been snapping at its heels, and a strategic misstep in attempting D2C sales has slowed down Nike's growth, it remains a legendary brand.

But there are two other legends (among many others besides) who matter as far as this review goes—Sonny Vaccaro and Michael Jordan. Vaccaro's autobiography, Legends and Soles, co-authored with Armen Keteyian, the 11-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, serves both a blueprint for innovation and a warning about the price of backing vision in a cutthroat industry.

More than merely a memoir, the book is a tapestry woven from the threads of sports, business and unshackled human ambition. For anyone who has anything to do with the volatile worlds of marketing and advertising, or for today's young, aspiring athletes and fitness enthusiasts whose routines aren't confined to the gym alone, this book is a keepsake in disruption, testifying to the power of conviction, and a deeply personal journey through the seismic shifts that transformed sports into a global industry.

Intelligent startup founders are also likely to find sections that appeal to them. At a fundamental level, Legends and Soles chronicles Vaccaro's career, from his early days as a high school basketball scout to his radical role in shaping first the American athletic footwear industry, and then the world's. He was the maverick who questioned conventional wisdom by advocating the endorsement of individual athletes instead of entire teams or leagues when Nike's budgets were constrained.