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Examining The Cuba-MJ Hanes Commercials

Apr 14, 2008, 6:30 PM UTC

You probably saw the ad during the Masters this weekend. If you didn’t see it there, you saw it during an NHL game. If not, you probably saw it during an NBA game. Yes, it’s the Cuba Gooding Jr.-Michael Jordan Hanes ad:â†µ

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â†µBefore we get into the long, storied history of bizarre Hanes ads with Michael Jordan, can we take a moment to mourn Cuba Gooding Jr.’s career?â†µâ†µThe man who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor after playing Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire is now yelling at Michael Jordan about his underwear. Maybe the real fall came in Daddy Day Camp or Norbit. And can someone explain to me why there is a monkey on the woman’s shoulder at the end of the ad? What does that even mean!?â†µ

â†µâ†µBut really, he’s the latest in a series of ad campaigns with Hanes and his Airness that have defied all logic:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥Jordan with Jackie Chan.
â†µâ‡¥Jordan with Mattew Perry.
â†µâ‡¥Jordan with Kevin Bacon.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µAll of these commercials have one thing in common: Jordan usually utters about five words. They’re usually something like, “When do I get paid?” My absolute favorite description of these videos comes from the Kevin Bacon commercial on YouTube:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥After the divorce from Juanita, Michael Jordan spends all his time making other people miserable.â†µâ†µâ†µPreviously, we discussed one of the most obnoxious commercials from March Madness -- the one from VW with the honking horn – but because the latest Hanes ad makes so little sense and gives me an instant headache, I’d like to toss it into the running. (And if someone has an answer, please explain the monkey on the woman’s shoulder. It haunts my dreams.)â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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