The reason I am into sneakers is thanks to Andre Agassi and Nike. Short of telling my life story, I was a very stereotypical short, bowl-cut sporting, asian kid who was decent at tennis. What was not typical was my intrigue by the brash, neon-color loving, long-haired player Andre Agassi. During this same time period Nike also had Pete Sampras killing it. The two were part of a strong USA and Nike contingent in men’s tennis. The two were also very much the opposite of one another which added to their rivalry (although mostly one-sided damn you Sampras) and relationship. Nike Tennis was killing it during this time period and one of the best commercials made, in my opinion, was this Guerilla Tennis commercial that ran during the 1995 U.S. Open. This is the extended version of the commercial and an interesting fact is that, although the Open is played in New York, the ad was actually made in San Francisco.
Classic.
[…] Quite possibly this matchup of polar opposites is why Nike would go on to snatch up Sampras and play off their rivalry for years. All I know is that 25 years ago was the start of a great time to be a tennis, especially American […]
[…] used for decades in the tennis world. The complaint mentions “Guerilla Tennis,” the name of a famous 1995 Nike television ad campaign featuring superstars Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras setting up an impromptu tennis match in […]
[…] has been used for decades in the tennis world. The complaint mentions “Guerilla Tennis,” the name of a famous 1995 Nike television ad campaign featuring superstars Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras setting up an impromptu tennis match in […]
[…] to focus solely on the sneaker. That’s how hard Andre’s stunt was! (Not to mention his Guerilla Tennis!) This shake-up brought about a notion to enforce a Wimbledon like “all white” dress […]