Vintage Gear: Michael Jordan Gatorade Cutout – 1991

Gatorade hit on one of the great all-time advertising campaigns with the “Be Like Mike” commercial in 1991. Capitalizing on Jordan’s first successful championship run with the Chicago Bulls and skyrocketing worldwide popularity, the sports drink maker managed to move Gatorade while selling Air Jordan as an aspirational figure to all people, a man everyone wished they could emulate whether or not they were conscious of it. Along with the commercial came a slew of Gatorade merchandise – labeled bottles, shirts, hats, and even cardboard cutouts (remember, this was 15 years before Fathead wall graphics was founded).

This particular example is right from the “Be Like Mike” era, with Jordan in a typical trot downcourt in his “Infared” Air Jordan 6s. You can still collect these pretty easily via eBay.