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00:00the sneaker market was blowing up you had a lot of high-profile signature marketing campaigns
00:11I mean Jordan obviously had put Nike on the map how's Mike defy gravity do you know do you know
00:17do you know do you know Converse had Larry Johnson his grandmama let's go Shaq of course
00:23was affiliated with Reebok but I'm ready to improve it in order to break through you have
00:30to compete with and hopefully succeed against that competition
00:38water Ruzga here at the Beverly Hills Country Club with another tennis tip from Bila Bila was a brand
00:46that had always been a successful country club apparel brand that evolved into athletic footwear
00:53see you soon Bila always had a very strong fashion sensibility this mean you guys want me to do it
00:59over what they lacked at the time were really some performance credibility and they had basketball
01:07shoes but they weren't a serious player on the endorsement stage and was looking for someone to
01:17lead their advertising in the US we were looking at college players we had actually signed Jamal Mashburn
01:31out of Kentucky as our first really signature guy but then everybody had their eye on Grant Hill
01:38Grant checked off the box as someone who was as comfortable on the cover of GQ as he was on the
01:48cover of Sports Illustrator or Slam Magazine so we saw an opportunity with a guy like Grant to really
01:56get the guy who personified both you know style and performance on the court and off the court
02:02here's an opportunity to sign a guy that can define the destiny and feel
02:32hello everybody Tom Suter 530 sports headlines Duke has fought its way into the NCAA's final eight
02:47last night Grant Hill taken over for the devil 16 of his 22 points in the second half Duke wars past
02:54Marquette 59 to 49 I just came out and just trying to be more aggressive make things happen
02:59I arrived at Duke University in 1990 I played four years there three NCAA championship games two
03:10championships people knew who we were more importantly knew I was being athletic being a
03:21high flyer having exciting moments exciting highlights certainly translated at the time as someone dynamic who could fit
03:33in to what would become sort of that sneaker culture there were two schools of thought within the company I
03:41led the Grant Hill is the right guy for Fila and our design team and our product merchandisers were very
03:49enthusiastic about Jason kid who was coming out of Cal at the time Jason was a point guard great player great guy and really appealed to the influencer and the trendsetter particularly in the inner city
04:06my argument was we have that market right now the feel of brand had cachet among the influencers and I said what we need to do is we got to expand the universe of people who will buy and wear our product and I thought that Grant had the ability to do that
04:25I still vividly remember my junior year we lose a tough heartbreak of a game to Cal University and Jason kid
04:37we had just been on this incredible ride for three years and we finally lost in the second round in Chicago
04:45as we were on the plane and Coach K came up and spoke to me and my roommate I remember the first
04:53thing he said was we're switching to Nike once coach left we were so happy we were like diddy
05:02for three years we wore adidas they weren't very popular amongst the players on the team
05:09they thought that the idea of wearing Nike's was really really cool we wore Nike's my senior year
05:17they gave us certain shoes to wear and I remember with the third of the season left I went to the foot
05:24locker and they had a pair of these uh Nike's I don't know what they were called they're like I don't
05:31know David Robinson wore them and so I bought them
05:34I kind of rocked them the rest of the season and through the tournament and I remember all my
05:43teammates thought that Nike sent them to me and I got a special pair but the reality was I went and
05:49bought them I bought them at the mall when I left Duke we had a senior dinner the seniors had dinner with
05:57coach K and his wife and Mrs. K said that our class of the 125 games we played during our four years you know 122 of
06:10them were on national television
06:11I was able to leverage that kind of visibility as I was departing Duke and entering into professional sports in the NBA
06:26a representative from Reebok was sending me stuff so I had the Reebok pumps a lot of folks were
06:41sending me things but you know Nike was where I was looking at we knew that Nike was very interested in
06:49Grant and he had been courted by Phil Knight and we knew through our sources that Grant had flown out
06:56to Nike I believe on Nike's corporate plane
07:03I remember going out to visit the campus with my dad and spent a considerable amount of time with Phil Knight and he
07:10even talked then about the market in Asia that was an untapped market and he felt my profile would resonate with the culture there
07:20even talked about having me via satellite at the Great Wall of China for the draft
07:27I think it speaks to Phil Knight's vision and how he was thinking big even back in 1994
07:34everybody at the table is like wow like that's amazing and I'm thinking I don't want to be you know halfway around the world I want to be
07:41you know I want to shake Commissioner Stern's hand I was all dead set on Nike had a great visit with Nike and returned home feeling really good
07:53at the time Phil Knight was based in a suburban office park north of Baltimore and frankly our offices had the curb appeal of a 7-11
08:08I mean it was not an exciting place to come when Grant got out of the car and by the way I was told by his agent slash lawyer after the fact he didn't want to get out of the car
08:20because he had been to Nike and he's like what am I doing talking to these guys at Phila so we said well you know how are we going to appeal to this guy after he's just been out the Nike which is the gold standard of the category
08:37we knew that Grant's dad Calvin was born in Baltimore he grew up in a neighborhood called Turner Station so Baltimore was a city that was close to his heart
08:49Fila's headquarters here in the US it was not Nike so I kind of went over there not so much thinking I would sign with Fila but just okay let me look at something else
09:04there's a thing about Baltimore that's distinct which is that we eat a lot of crabs and crab cakes so we said we're going to put on a Baltimore spread for the hills
09:18when they come and visit us at Fila and then we just kind of sat down in a boardroom and we had lunch there were crab cakes and they were really good it just it was like wow okay you know I'm a bit of a sucker for crab cakes
09:35this is this is interesting everywhere he stepped in our building we had signage that spoke to another reason why he should consider us he got on the elevator and there was a large poster in the elevator that listed all of Nike's
09:54endorsed athletes who had signature shoes and it basically said you can swim in a sea that's filled with other fish or you can drive the destiny of our brand it was eye-opening there's so many athletes in the stable at Nike and you can kind of get lost in the shuffle but here you can be a brand and I remember like confused I mean I knew what a brand was but I didn't sort of associate that with an individual
10:23the meeting went very very well and we signed Grant and the crab cakes by the way were a big hit we did not have the signature shoe design at that point but we certainly made the promise that he would get one
10:41he would get one they committed to me before I even was drafted to get that sort of endorsement from them it just kind of made you believe like okay if they believe in me like I must be a big big you know I must be legit
10:56with the third pick in the 1994 NBA draft the Detroit Pistons select Grant Hill from Duke University
11:08it's kind of cool knowing coming in before you've even played a game that you're gonna have a signature shoe your rookie year like that doesn't happen often
11:18I think that really kind of got things going with the momentum at the start of the year it just helped build confidence
11:27the year as he goes up to Grand Hill being in Detroit was huge the Pistons were looking for who was going to be the cornerstone piece for this franchise that experienced so much success in the mid to late 80s
11:39and along comes Grand Hill one of the best players in college and so when Grand Hill got signed to Phila it was a little unusual because you bringing them into a new market into a new kind of conversation that they hadn't really been into in terms of a basketball shoot
11:57what do you what do you love about basketball what do you love about the game
12:01you know it's you know it's so much fun that's the main thing all you really need is is the basketball and a hoop and that's it and you can go out there and be whoever you want to be you can be you can be Dr. J or you can be you know Michael Jordan or you can be you can even be Grant Hill
12:23they talked about having folks come around periodically these were the creatives behind the documentary hoop dreams
12:32the trick is we've got a thing out here for it to help you if you don't want to use it it's okay you know just it's a little spring thing yeah I'll probably use it
12:40you know just to get you up a little bit so you don't have to do all the work yourself okay
12:44it's not like you had a storyboard and you know this was what the commercial is going to be you're going to say these lines and so on and so forth
12:52but you know they were able to capture moments and you know I think it was was really cool and I think really different in terms of advertising at the time
13:02I was a nerd nobody knew me and I was just the tall guy or I was the guy who had a father who played professional football
13:09and all of a sudden I started playing basketball and I was you know everybody's best friend I did have a girlfriend or two at least in high school
13:17but my lingo with the females wasn't like it is now
13:25no I don't think I hit the wall I just think
13:27they weren't necessarily selling a shoe or a brand but they were selling me showing who I am
13:34he went all the way through and came out here because he asked me he said what do you think
13:38I said I think you went all the way through Doc he said you know what Luke's in there he said I think you did too
13:43I went up for a dunk and uh as I was coming down I bumped I bumped into Sam Bowie's head
13:50I guess you can't kiss anybody for a while but I wasn't kissing anybody anyway so it was no big deal
13:56Grant was not screaming prototypical arrogant you know guy that a lot of whom you saw in the NBA
14:06he was a big contrast to that
14:09here's a guy who's a you know very down to earth very humble and very respectful
14:16and I think he gets a lot of that from his parents
14:19one of the big things about being with Fela is they get to get my parents clothes and my dad especially
14:26his dad you know was a very good NFL football player for the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins
14:34and his father always used to say when you score a touchdown and you're in the end zone act like you've been there before
14:41I think he instilled that in Grant that okay you're very successful you've won national championships
14:50but don't forget you're just another guy and you know treat people with respect
14:56and frankly that's what we liked about Grant
14:59Julius Irving
15:02my friend and I when we were little we used to have the Nerf basketball hoop up in our room
15:06and we used to he was he was he was magic and I was Dr. J and then finally to sit and talk to him
15:13and him give me advice and give me his phone number
15:16I felt like a little kid
15:19I had my cellular phone I was like I'm gonna call him just to make sure it's the right number
15:24as you're leading up to the launch of a shoe mid-season
15:28early in my rookie year they would send prototypes
15:31and you're just like wow like I got my own shoe like it's crazy
15:38I remember there were times where I'd wear them in practice and then I'd go change them before the media would come in
15:44at that point you're like man like why can't I just wear them now like why do I have to wait
15:48I got off to such a hot start and we get into December and it's like you might make the all-star game
15:57okay let's launch them at the all-star game
16:00in Phoenix being around all these players that you know just a year before I'm watching and admiring and dreaming about playing with and against
16:13and now I'm out here playing alongside them on this stage
16:19not only was I starting in the all-star game my rookie year I was a leading vote getter
16:26I mean it was surreal
16:28the only rookie ever to finish first in fan voting for the NBA all-star game
16:33starting it forward from the Detroit Pistons
16:36Grant
16:37we had Grant in the shoe at the all-star game couldn't buy it yet
16:41but he was wearing it and then we did a launch spot which was sort of our hero spot
16:48and that sort of paid off the teaser campaign you've seen the rookies journal
16:53now here's the crescendo with Grant
16:56we built up a demand so that when we launched it in March the shoe absolutely blew off the shelves
17:04I recall being at home the first Saturday it was available
17:10I'm calling footlockers all over the country
17:13my wife thought I was out of my mind
17:15I'm saying hey do you have the Grand Hill shoe in stock?
17:18and everybody says we sold out of that man
17:21and I'm smile, hang up, call another one
17:25I was getting feedback that the shoe was doing very well
17:31you travel, you go to different cities
17:34you might go to the mall an off day
17:37man I see six, seven people at the mall and they all have my shoe on
17:40it translated not only with the urban inner city crowd
17:45but then also suburbia
17:47suburban kids
17:48it seemed like everybody was a fan of the shoe
17:51and everybody was rocking the shoes
17:52I think that first year every time I put them on I was like yo this is crazy
17:59this whole year like am I dreaming like is this all happening
18:04and I don't even think you have time to really like stop and just sort of take in and process everything that's going on around you
18:13and at the time it was the highest selling first signature
18:18two of anyone
18:20gets sold more than Michael, Michael Jordan
18:23there was this whole conversation about who is going to be the next Michael Jordan
18:32and along comes Grant Hill
18:35he had the dazzling personality, the smile, the good looks
18:39and he was one of the most well-rounded players
18:43Grant Hill, a special Brazilian rubber on issues
18:47which makes him jump 12 pounds
18:49during his rookie year he was just sensational
18:52all of us at the time we were thinking like oh my god Detroit might have the biggest star in the NBA
18:59you know what I heard every time Grant Hill drinks fight
19:07he's not thirsty anymore
19:09basketball as a global sport really began to emerge around that time
19:15and we ended up using Grant as a brand ambassador in Japan and Korea
19:21in the Philippines countries all over Europe
19:25I mean we had crowds of 15 to 20,000 people show up
19:30he was a rock star
19:32he became an icon and a brand icon for feel all over the world
19:37Michael Jordan retired and Grant
19:40he was portrayed as not by us but by many in the media as the next Michael Jordan
19:46people, media, whomever kind of thrusted that onto me where I'm the next Michael
19:53you know I didn't embrace it I didn't deflect it I just trying to focus on being me
19:59that label you know was there that first year
20:04and I think part of it was the play on the court but then part of it was the marketability off the court
20:10I mean you know Michael's got the you know that big split thing that he does you know so we don't want to do that
20:17we want to do something that feels really good for you and something that's going to be possibly a trademark kind of move for you
20:23everything throughout his first year is success on the court
20:29his appearance at the all-star game is winning rookie of the year
20:36he was on the cover of GQ as man of the year
20:40at the end of the day where the rubber meets the road as does the shoe sell
20:44and his shoe blew off the shelves
20:48was not only the number of pairs of shoes it was the velocity at which the shoe sold
20:54it's one of the fastest selling signature shoes of all time
20:59I think we realized at that point
21:02this guy's for real
21:05which then leads to the Grand Hill 2
21:08which came out the following season
21:11I glide to the hole to the hole 2
21:15then the lanes closed uh oh
21:18can't come through
21:20so go outside
21:22the shot is there
21:23touch it
21:24not only is everybody saying you're the next Jordan
21:27in terms of being the face of the league
21:29the confidence
21:30for Grant
21:31he was already dealing with a lot of pressure just on the basketball front
21:35then they're looking at your shoes like oh
21:37could you be the next one who when we know your shoe is dropping
21:41we lining up around the block to get it
21:43or it becomes like a culturally significant shoe
21:47as hip-hop started to emerge
21:54you started to see street culture
21:57and even hip-hop figures aspiring to the affluent brands
22:01and Fila was looked upon as that
22:04it gave off the impression that you had money
22:07Method Man wore my first Fila shoe
22:10and a video with Mary J Blige
22:13you know it was the Grand Hill 1s
22:19it was all I need was the song
22:21it was a big song and he's wearing them
22:23and it was like free promo
22:25a lot of hip-hop artists wanted to be basketball players
22:29basketball players wanted to be hip-hop artists
22:31it was a time I think sort of there was a confluence of hip-hop music culture
22:38and sports were all sort of intertwined
22:48after my rookie year
22:50I ended up getting a car Mercedes
22:52and I wanted to get some rims
22:54and I bought some rims from this rim shop in Atlanta
23:00I guess Tupac was very close with the guys who were in the rim shop
23:06at the time he might have been in jail
23:10eventually when he got out
23:12I sent them the shoe to the guys
23:15who said they would pass them along to Tupac
23:18I don't know if they actually did
23:23but then lo and behold later on
23:25he's wearing those shoes on the album cover
23:29I remember the first time I bought the album
23:31I opened it I was like oh man
23:33he's wearing my shoes
23:35I'm not even sure if he received them or not
23:38or if he was wearing them because the gesture on my part
23:41or if a stylist gave it to him
23:43I have no idea
23:44but it was just that kind of invisibility
23:47I think on an icon like Tupac
23:49that was definitely a signature moment for sure
23:55The Grand Hill 2 as I recall
23:57had a nice patent leather on the outsole
24:00and patent leather obviously is more of a fashion statement
24:05the whole idea was how do you position Grant
24:09as sort of the counter to what everybody else
24:12were positioning their signature athletes
24:17Nike had great humor
24:18they had Spike Lee with Mars Blackman with Jordan
24:22and Shaq was this massive guy
24:26who was all about ripping the rim down
24:28and dunking the basketball
24:29and Grandmama was this loud in your face character
24:35and so we saw an opportunity to sort of position Grant
24:39and Grant is the antithesis of that
24:43The idea that NBA stars could be marketable
24:46well beyond America was something that
24:48Michael Jordan really really took to another level
24:52he was able to give them a bit of a map in terms of becoming a global superstar
24:55so when Grant became sort of the face of Sprite
25:00the face of a beverage in this major way
25:04that made those Jordan comparisons in terms of marketability
25:08it made them that much more one-to-one
25:09Grand Hill Tricks Sprite
25:12Grand Hill Tricks Sprite
25:13Grand Hill Tricks Sprite
25:14Grand Hill Tricks Sprite
25:16MJ was retired
25:17there was a void
25:19we were kind of entering the era of like
25:22figmation shoots
25:26Michael I think really kind of set it off
25:28and I remember buying his Jordans his rookie year
25:32I was in middle school
25:34Michael really helped open the door to the possibility of being a brand
25:41we all benefited from him sort of being a trailblazer in that sense
25:46it came in a two-word statement which is now just begging to have a Nike campaign built around it
25:51quote-unquote
25:53I'm back
25:54that's all Jordan said on Saturday
25:55that was really all Jordan needed to say
25:57as his 17-month retirement came to an end
26:00he will be back on Sunday
26:02well Jordan had come back during the season
26:06by the time that they ended up playing the Magic
26:09he wasn't quite the Michael Jordan that we remember
26:12because he had some rust on him and he had to shake that off
26:15the rest is history the Magic beat the Bulls
26:18I think if Michael had been in the groove the whole season
26:24I'm not sure that would have happened
26:30well not many teams had an answer for Shaq
26:35just the sheer power of Shaquille
26:38they just could not deal with him
26:40and to have a dominating big man
26:43and then a 6'7 point guard
26:45who could do everything
26:48teams knew that they had to deal with these two guys in Orlando
26:51and they were young
26:53they were only 23, 24 years old
26:55the whole league looked at Shaq and Penny as that great duo
27:00I think Penny Hardaway was the greatest all-around player in Magic history
27:04and Shaq was the most impactful
27:06it was definitely kind of an interesting situation to say
27:11oh well Shaq is becoming this larger-than-life figure and Reebok has Shaq
27:15and so how do we continue to position Nike as sort of the battle for who's coolest or who's more relevant
27:24then it became clear in that season that Nike needed to get behind Penny Hardaway
27:28he was this young up-and-coming female
27:32he let his game speak for himself in a very soft-spoken off-the-court way
27:37Charles Barkley told me the other day that you are now in that category that Magic, Bird, Jordan, himself
27:45do you know you're there?
27:46I don't think so
27:47I think I'm a toughest critic
27:50now I remember that meeting with Penny Hardaway
27:53brought him into the agency I remember distinctly
27:55and I felt so lucky to be in that room and meet the guy
27:58Penny Hardaway sat in that meeting, couldn't have been any kinder
28:02and he was clearly not going to blow his own horn
28:05so it struck me, he needs his own Mars Blackman
28:08he needs his own sidekick
28:10you
28:17you
28:19you
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