words // Zack Schlemmer
For this week's Vintage Ad we have another one of the iconic "phone number" Nike Ads from the mid 90's. Back then the shoe designs were so strong all the ads had to do was show a single photograph of the shoe on a plain white background with nothing but a Swoosh and a phone number. Here we see the ad for the Nike Air Bakin' from 1997.
The Air Bakin' was among the Nike Basketball classics from '97 like the Foamposite One, Air Pippen, and Zoom Flight Five. The red-hot silhouette was most notably worn by Tim Hardaway on his way to many killer crossovers with the Miami Heat. Although not an official signature shoe, the Bakin' is most closely associated with Hardaway, especially in the black/red/yellow colorway (although he wore them with black laces) matching his Heat uniform.
The Bakin' created a stir when the flaming "Air" logo on the heel was thought to resemble the Arabic text for "Allah" and ended up being recalled to change the controversial symbol in respect for the Muslim religion. The comparison was a bit of a stretch, so it's a shame it had to be changed, since it was a fitting logo to compliment the shoes fiery design.
