Be like Mike … for $200 a pair

Associated Press

Air Jordan, the most successful brand of Nike basketball shoes, is taking a vertical leap with a price of $200 a pair.

Packed in a metallic silver briefcase instead of a shoebox, the Air Jordan XVII is arriving in stores, accompanied by a $10 million national advertising campaign with TV spots orchestrated by filmmaker and well-known basketball fan Spike Lee.

The competition, meanwhile, is trying to keep up. Reebok International is taking a similar approach with a $125 shoe promoted by Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson and singer R. Kelly, among other sports and entertainment stars.

Analysts say high-priced shoes are mostly a gimmick to get customers into stores to buy other Nike products. But the Beaverton-based athletic shoe and clothing maker has come up with a well-designed and neatly packaged gimmick.

Still, don’t start looking for these pricey shoes on basketball courts.

"Most of them will never see the street," said John Shanley of Wells Fargo Securities in New York. "Kids call it a ‘keeper.’ They basically keep it under their bed and when friends come over, show it to them."

Tyson Frodsham, a high school sophomore who lives near Nike headquarters, agreed.

"I’d probably hang them on a mantel or on my wall or something," he said.

Ever since NBA star Michael Jordan teamed up with Nike during the 1984-85 season, the premium shoe has routinely sold out when a new version is introduced. In fact, Nike moved the launch day to Saturdays by 1998 because of complaints that kids would skip school to line up for the latest version when they found out it was about to hit the stores.

Next Saturday, Feb. 9, the 17th model of the top-of-the-line Air Jordan will go on sale just in time for the NBA All-Star game, two weeks after the Nike ad campaign began during the NFL playoffs.

Reebok, meanwhile, is trying to create its own buzz for its $125 shoe, the Answer V — the "V" is for version 5 — with a television advertising campaign that began Jan. 22. It features basketball, football and tennis stars alongside rapper Jadakiss and R&B singer Kelly, who laces up a pair of Iverson’s shoes in the campaign’s 30-second premier ad.

"The key passions in a young man’s life are music, technology, sports and entertainment," said Denise Kaigler, Reebok spokeswoman. "It’s a marketing mix that is working."