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To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the iconic Air Jordan 1, Jordan Brand and the Chicago Bulls have teamed up for a bold marketing stunt involving Michael Jordan’s statue at the United Center.
The statue, which shows Jordan in mid-air rocking his signature sneakers, has gotten a surprising update as the shoes on his feet are now “banned,” as per ESPN's and Boardroom's NBA Feature writer Nick DePaula. Yes, you heard it right. This is a nod to the infamous 1985 moment when the NBA tried to stop Jordan from wearing his black-and-red Air Jordan 1s.
Back in 1985, just a month after the AJ1 dropped, the NBA wasn’t a fan of the bold colorway. At the time, NBA uniform rules didn’t allow such ostentatious designs. The league fined Jordan $5,000 every game he wore the shoes, but Nike picked up the tab, which just added to the rebellious vibe.
Skip ahead to today, and the Bulls and Jordan Brand are playing off that “banned” moment with a clever marketing twist. They’ve recreated the black bars from the 1985 ad that famously showed MJ wearing the “Bred” (black and red) Air Jordan 1, with black bars across the shoes while an announcer said, “This shoe is banned.” While the ad made it look like the Air Jordan 1 was the banned shoe, the truth is it was the Nike Air Ship Jordan wore before the 1 officially dropped.
For the 40th anniversary, Jordan Brand is releasing the Air Jordan 1 High ’85 Bred on February 14, 2025, in a limited drop. Only 23 retail stores in the U.S. will have them, and fewer than 10,000 pairs will be available. This release is special because it’s the first time the AJ1 is being sold in its original 1985 cut. The shoes will feature premium materials, making this re-issue the best one yet, and sneakerheads are already pretty excited about it.
Jordan Brand’s marketing strategy has been on point, using social media and collaborations to hype things up. The campaign began in early January with a re-release of the original 1985 ad, followed by the deactivation of Jordan Brand’s Instagram account. Along with the statue stunt at the United Center, the Bulls have been part of this campaign with exclusive video drops and collaborations. There’s been a video showing DJ Khaled getting his hands on a 1-of-23 pair of the Air Jordan 1 High ’85 Bred. Other VIPs, like rapper Fabolous, got their exclusive pairs, too, which has only amped up the hype.
Even though the statue now features blacked-out shoes as part of this campaign, it’s worth noting that it actually shows Jordan wearing the Air Jordan 9, not the Air Jordan 1. Nevertheless, the Air Jordan 1 High ’85 Bred will be up for grabs in February, keeping the spirit of the AJ1 alive.
