Jumpman (logo)

For other uses of "Jumpman", see Jumpman (disambiguation).

The "Jumpman" logo is used by Nike to promote the Air Jordan shoes, among other merchandise.

The "Jumpman" logo is owned by Nike to promote its Michael Jordan-related merchandise, including the Air Jordan brand of basketball shoes. The logo is a silhouette of Michael Jordan performing a dunk.

History

The first recorded event of Michael Jordan doing the "Jumpman" pose came in a photoshoot for Life magazine leading up to the 1984 Olympic Games before Michael Jordan had signed with Nike. The photo was staged, with Jordan performing a ballet technique known as a grand jeté to make it appear as if he was leaping for a slam dunk, a movement not actually consistent with Jordan's jumping style.

The Air Jordan III, released in 1988, was the first Air Jordan shoe to feature the Jumpman logo, replacing the "Wings" logo, which had been a feature of the Air Jordans I and II.

In 1993-94, Nike ran a series of Air Jordan commercials pairing Michael Jordan with Warner Brothers' owned Bugs Bunny. As a tie-in, Nike created a line of merchandise which featured a spoof of the Jumpman using Bugs' silhouette, combined with a "Hare Jordan" caption. This campaign was followed by the 1996 film Space Jam, which references the Jumpman logo during its climax, in which Jordan dunks from half-court.

Lawsuit

On January 22, 2015, photographer Jacobus Rentmeester filed a suit against Nike claiming copyright infringement over the use of the Jumpman logo. According to Rentmeester, Nike copied a photograph he had granted temporary permission to use for the logo. The suit was brought to a federal court in Portland, Oregon for an unspecified amount.