Air, the Ben Affleck directed film about Nike’s attempt to sign Michael Jordan released a trailer on Thursday. With an ensemble cast that includes Affleck, Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker, and Viola Davis, Air is a story “inspired by true events” of Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) trying to sign MJ to a contract with Nike when Jordan was entering the NBA.
An Air ad will air Sunday night during the Super Bowl, but Amazon Studios released the full trailer a few days before the game.
What many forget is that Nike wasn’t the sports shoe and apparel behemoth back then as it is now. While Jordan was a standout college player, no one knew at the time he would go above and beyond transforming the NBA like he did.
Nowadays, shoe companies try to be the first to get a deal with the best young talents but back then, shoe deals were reserved for established stars. Nike took a risk with the unproven Jordan, but it clearly worked out as he transformed the Portland-based company into a global brand while Nike helped make the Air Jordan brand iconic.
Air is the first movie from Affleck’s and Damon’s Artists Equity production company, and will be in theaters starting April 5.
