A blog by A.J. Gonzalez

It's 2020, and I thought that it's a good time to start everything fresh or go back to basics, as they say. So to do that, I have to go back in time. To a moment of time were social media or iTunes didn't exist and rap was actually good. To a time when the Simpsons were in its infancy.......BACK TO THE EARLY 90's!

Ah, the 90's. When it came to sports commercials, shoe companies had a renaissance when it associated with professional athletes in their ads.

Bo Jackson and the Nike campaign was one of the most popular commercials in a generation detailing his two-sport escapades.

Speaking of two-sport escapades, Nike teamed up with Deion Sanders for a slew of ads with Denis Leary as the narrator. It was another success for the brand.

Dennis Hopper as the psychotic referee, sneaking into locker rooms and football fields to grab players' signature shoes such as Rod Woodson, Bruce Smith, Junior Seau and of course, Deion. Another successful campaign for Nike.

Lil' Penny was the puppet alter ego of current University of Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway in yet another great campaign for Nike.....you kind of see the point here.

Nike was the top dog of memorable ads during this time, but Reebok had some people as Shaquille O'Neal, Shawn Kemp and Allen Iverson represent the brand in ads. They were underrated and drove the point home that you...yes, you, can wear these shoes. I owned a pair of Reeboks and they were uncomfortable, just saying. In early 1992, the shoe brand decided to go outside the box and feature a bunch of commercials centering on two athletes battling against each other in a race to the 1992 Summer Olympics. The ads wanted the audience to focus on Dan and Dave.

Wait, who is Dan and Dave? I bet I wasn't the only one that was asking the question. Dan O'Brien and Dave Johnson were hopefuls for the United States Decathlon Team. Reebok listed their credentials in a series of commercials giving the viewers an idea who Dan and Dave were. In one ad, they asked Dan and Dave's closet relatives and friends who was the better athlete. At the end of the ad, they asked Dan's ex-girlfriend. She responded Dave. One showed pictures of their younger years listing how far they could throw a javelin and pole vault. The commercials were to promote the Reebok Pump sneakers. If you're a 90's kid, you remember these. Sneakers with the button at the tongue that pump to create air to your feet. Dee Brown made them famous during the 1991 dunk contest. And if you're wondering, Reebok made commercials with Brown. The King Kong Jam, anyone? It was a concept that got the viewer invested into a hype that needed a resolution. Some of the ads ended in the tagline: To Be Settled In Barcelona. So these two were waving the ride towards their future conclusion in Spain.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

O'Brien failed to qualify for the U.S. team, which sent Reebok in a panic and a certain amount of people calling the campaign "a waste of time". Johnson would make the team and win the bronze at Barcelona. The next year, the two made a parody ad for Ryder Trucks. O'Brien would get his redemption by winning the gold in the 1996 games in Atlanta. ESPN decided to produce a 30 for 30 doc on the campaign. 

Many thought this was a brilliant idea for Reebok following two athletes unknown to some. It gave us a build-up between two competitors in a way while learning who they are. A portion believes the campaign was tainted when Dan O'Brien failed to qualify for the games. I don't think that. It's unfortunate that it occured, but Reebok went for the fences on this and it was successful.

(Sources: ESPN, YouTube, Washington Post, Wikipedia, Forbes)

(For more content check out our Facebook page and our website @www.realsportsaz.com)