Remembering Nike's Campaign to Elect Ken Griffey Jr. President

Originally posted on FanNation Kicks | By Pat Benson | Last updated 2/23/24

While it is easy to look back at past eras through rose-colored glasses, the 1990s were easily the best time for sneakers and sports marketing. The athletes seemed larger-than-life, and brands went way over the top with their advertisement campaigns.

Long before social media and online shopping permanently rewired us, companies relied heavily on traditional forms of media like print and television to drive consumers to brick-and-mortar stores. There were no targeted advertisements or influencers, just unbridled creativity.

At the time, no brand did it better than Nike. A solid example would be when they mounted a faux political campaign to elect Seattle Mariners outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. during the 1996 U.S. Presidential Election.

This golden memory was recently unlocked for me by Nice Kicks Vault (an Instagram account sneakerheads must follow). The YouTube video below is one of many amazing relics from Griffey's presidential campaign.

A quick search on YouTube will result in a handful of nostalgic commercials that were luckily digitalized and saved for future generations to learn how great the sneaker community used to be back in the day.

The commercials were funny, nonpartisan, and reminded us how much we loved America's pastime. Political figures from the left and right were featured without any acrimony (we are pretty sure James Carville is still wearing the same LSU Tigers-themed shirt to this day).

Fast forward to modern times, and MLB is an afterthought for most American sports fans. Even worse, baseball fans have been rightfully angry about the recently botched rollout of the new Nike/Fanatics uniforms.

The transparent pants are one thing, but the jerseys replaced large stitching with tiny iron-on characters that continue to shrink the sport down to size. With it goes just a little bit more baseball's magic, funneling it to the bottom line of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

For everyone over 34 years old, these old-school advertisements will unleash a flood of pleasant memories. Everyone under the generational divide will learn how good Nike used to be when it was at the top of its game. Stay locked into FanNationKicks.com for all your footwear news.

This article first appeared on FanNation Kicks and was syndicated with permission.

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