Air: An Inspirational Commercial for a Commercial? Shut Up and Take My Money!
By Jim Slotek
Rating: B+
Yes, Ben Affleck’s Air is a commercial for a commercial. But damn, it’s a good commercial.
It’s not many films that can convincingly cast a multi-billion corporation as an underdog. The basic plot of Air is how Nike – once a distant third in the race to sell us overpriced athletic shoes – grabbed mucho market share from competitors Converse and Adidas. They did so by betting on a college basketball star who would go on to become the greatest of all time in the NBA.
The golden goose is, of course, Michael Jordan, who is practically a ghost in a movie ostensibly about him. We see him in game footage, and on a couple of occasions from behind in pitch meetings (Damian Young plays him, but who can tell?).
Nike’s Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) pitches Michael Jordan’s mom Doloris Jordan (Viola Davis) in Air
In fact, Air is more about the idea of Michael Jordan. The world of marketing can be as creative as any other endeavor, and game-changing ideas can create instant billionaires.
Nike’s brainstorm, or that of marketing exec Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), is not to sell shoes that Michael Jordan endorses, but to sell Michael Jordan’s shoes, turn them into an entity - Air Jordan - that would outlast Jordan’s actual career.
Air is filled with shlubby characters who follow sports religiously for material reasons. There is a definite Moneyball vibe to Vaccaro, who goes from town to town scouting high school and college basketball stars, doing the math in his head over what they may eventually be worth, endorsement-wise as pros.
Stuck with unimpressive draftees in their price range, Nike is facing pulling the plug on its basketball marketing division. But like an aging salesman with nothing to lose, Vaccaro stakes his career, and a lot of people’s jobs, on a marketing Hail Mary pass.
To wit: Bet everything on one player, one they stand little chance of actually signing.
And thus, does a movie about corporatism become a tale of redemption, built on a high-stakes roll of the dice. Vaccaro is willing to break rules – like the one that says companies bidding for a player’s service don’t pitch the players and parents directly. If he wasn’t, we’d never get to see Viola Davis playing Jordan’s mom Deloris, warily welcoming Vaccaro to her home.
The rest of the cast is spot-on, particularly director Affleck as legendary Nike CEO/guru Phil Knight, who spouts New Agey aphorisms, while clearly not experiencing tranquility. He’s mercurial, saying no when you might expect yes, and vice versa.
Chris Tucker gives a volume-down performance as Howard White, the Nike exec (and future VP of the Jordan brand) who takes a while to believe in Vaccaro, as does the overwhelmed and worried marketing chief Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman).
They share cynical and sarcastic banter that keeps the movie moving when they could be talking about spreadsheets. Air is enjoyable, engaging, sprinkled with some of the ‘80s sprightlier hits (including Sister Christian and Money for Nothing), and good for some laughs.
That some social good came from this billion-dollar marketing play is part of Air’s triumphal note. Deloris’ “deal-breaker” demand that her son be given a share of sales – unheard of in sports marketing to that time – kickstarted better deals for both college players and the pros.
Not that that was what Nike execs were concerned about at the time. But the heartwarming coda fulfills Affleck’s mission to tell a story about billion-dollar corporate deal-making while bringing a tear to our eye.
Air. Directed by Ben Affleck. Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris Tucker. In theatres Wednesday, April 5.