Inspiration Not Imitation

Nike turned to Maori Moko for inspiration in their latest major ad campaign, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Air Jordan basketball shoes. Created by Wieden + Kennedy (NYC) art director Robert Rasmussen, the striking ads show Michael Jordan digitally tattooed over the entire length of his body. While the pictograms used are not Maori designs – rather shoes, basketballs, and representations of Jordan’s friends and family – the idea of inscribing one’s life history on skin was taken from the Maori tradition. The same pictograms have been etched into the leather used on Nike’s 20th anniversary edition Air Jordans.