words // Zack Schlemmer
It’s Valentine’s Day, so today’s Classic Commercial feature is all about the ladies. Let’s take it back to 1999 with these brilliantly done Nike ads for Cynthia Cooper, Lisa Leslie, and Sheryl Swoopes. In this set of commercials, these three women’s hoops All Stars are hounded by a group of three now-it-all little hoops-minded girls who are convinced they have all the answers and advice for the WNBA players.
1999 was only the third season of the WNBA and was at the height of its popularity, due in part to these three amazing female athletes. Nike took notice and produced more female basketball shoes than they ever had before. In the first two commercials with Cynthia Cooper, you see the Air Max Shake’em Up, which would probably be one of the most celebrated Nike basketball shoes of its time if it were a men’s model. I mean, really, that’s a dope shoe! In the next commercials we see the signature shoes of Lisa Leslie with the Total Air 9 and Sheryl Swoopes with the Air Swoopes. The designs of all three of these shoes are so nice that I don’t think many of us guys would have a problem wearing them if we found them in our size. Or maybe you could just find a pair for your girl. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Cynthia Cooper -- Air Max Shake'em Up
Lisa Leslie -- Total Air 9
Sheryl Swoopes -- Air Swoopes IV
