Soon after Michael began dominating the basketball scene, he was picked up by multiple sponsors. Companies from all around the United States flocked to try and get the legend himself to be on one of their advertisements. A few of these companies included Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, Upper Deck, 2K Sports, etc. Another was Ball Park, a company that sells hotdogs to all different kinds of sporting events (Smith). Ball Park franks is a very common saying which is very likely to be heard in a collegiate or professional stadium. On this Ball Park advertisement, Michael Jordan’s famous number 23 is clearly displayed to catch the attention of someone who glances at the image. This advertisement would most likely appear in a newspaper or a sports magazine. It would have been directed towards shoppers that enjoy franks or people who are grilling out for a big game. Michael, dressed in a red jersey, is in the center of the page against a very dark background. The contrast of colors focuses the attention of the reader on Michael himself. This dark background also makes it easy to see the bold white letters of the clever caption next to Michael. Ball Park uses Ethos in the advertisement by putting the image of a Michael Jordan at stake, this gives Ball Park credibility and the potential buyer more confidence in the product. Finally, Ball Park attempts to seal the deal with an attached coupon. The coupon provides a monetary incentive for customers to go out and buy Ball Park franks at the store. Michael’s appearance in this advertisement shows that he was willing to take a risk on the name of Ball Park. Ball Park did pay Michael for this advertisement but if the franks suddenly had a problem, such as giving people food poisoning, Michael’s image could easily be damaged. However, this was not the case and both Ball Park and Michael Jordan mutually benefitted from this arrangement (Smith).

            When people think of Michael Jordan a common thing that comes to mind is his legendary shoe line. In 1984, Michael made a deal with sport wear superpower Nike to create a new pair of basketball shoes. These shoes, called the Air Jordan’s ended up being so popular that Nike decided to make dozens of different kinds and sell them all over the world. The advertisement shown above is one of thousands to have come out from Nike over the course of the years. Nike would have placed this ad in a magazine or on a large billboard on a highway. The audience of this advertisement would have been shoe collectors, people who like Michael Jordan, and the parents of kids who need new basketball shoes. Someone driving by or flipping through pages would be able to quickly see the dark shoes and dark letters against the all-white background. The letters are in the standard box-like Nike font which makes things easier to read. Although this advertisement doesn’t have Michael himself in it, it uses a word that is very commonly associated with Michael and the shoes, Fly (Fushoes). The words “Drive” and “Fly” and colored red so the reader’s attention is primarily drawn to them. Michael was known for being able to jump ridiculously high and far. He is widely known for being the first person to dunk from the free throw line and kids have looked up to him as a role model since his debut. The advertisement here uses Pathos by getting the reader to imagine all the great things they can accomplish with these shoes. The sentence “Why drive when you can fly?” is supposed to be taken figuratively and allows for a broad concept of what the intent of the advertisement could be. The ad may want you to think, “If I had these shoe’s I could be as good of a basketball player as Michael Jordan” or even “These shoes will make me the most popular person around, just like Michael Jordan is!” When turning to the next page your finger will touch the Nike logo making it the last thing you see and the last thing you will remember. The Air Jordan shoe is Michaels greatest source of publicity and income. All of the Air Jordan shoes have helped build Michael up to the celebrity he has become today.