This morning, news broke that Travis Scott will perform at the 2019 Super Bowl LIII halftime show.
First reported by TMZ and confirmed by Pitchfork, Scott will join Maroon 5 on stage with Cardi B and Big Boi also in talks.
While Scott has long been a favorite on Nice Kicks dating back to his Owl Pharoah days, the success of “SICKO MODE” and ASTROWORLD literally have La Flame in a whole new stratosphere with his mass appeal at an all-time high. Performing at the Super Bowl halftime show will have more eyeballs on him than ever before.
This fact surely cannot be lost on Jordan Brand.
Lacing Justin Timberlake at the 2018 Super Bowl LII halftime show in the debut colorway of the Air Jordan 3 “JTH,” the collab with JT on the Hatfield homage AJ3 stole the show as far as sneakerheads were concerned, releasing in quickstrike fashion and paving the way for more JTH drops over the course of the year.
The 13-minute performance by Timberlake saw Pepsi as the lead sponsor, though it was reported by Apex Marketing Group that the visibility of JT’s Jordans was worth roughly $2.86 million USD in advertising costs. When considering the average $5 million USD cost of a Super Bowl commercial, JB/Nike Inc. made out like bandits as Hypebeast was smart to note.
Though Travis’ time on screen will surely be much shorter than Justin’s considering Maroon 5 is the headliner, it’s naive to think that Jordan Brand wouldn’t capitalize on the airtime both literally and figuratively.
Utilizing social metrics and the SNKRS App, Jordan Brand leveraged Timberlake — who currently boasts 64.6 million Twitter followers and 53.2 million Instagram followers — to tease the shoes and shoutout JB just minutes prior to his performance. The shoes then became the talk of social, offering a closer look at the easily identifiable but slightly altered classic that would hit the stage. The shoes then released on the SNKRS App, selling out at lightspeed and fueling the appetite for both “Tinker” 3s and Man of the Woods pop-ups shops over the course of 2018.
By JT numbers, Travis’ followings may pale in comparison but his relevance and influence might be second to none at this moment. Optimizing the screen time, it’s safe to assume Scott will use the moment to debut a limited piece of ASTROWORLD merch based on the Super Bowl, but what will JB lace him in?
While SB Dunks and upcoming Jordan Brand collabs have carried Scott’s rotation as of late, it’s not lost on us that one of the key elements of the Air Jordan 3 JTH’s viral success was just how easy it was to identify. 3M Swoosh aside, the shine of a White/Cement sneaker on an otherwise dark outfit made even the most casual of fan able to shout “Air Jordan!” when they saw it on their TV.
2019’s Jordan Brand lineup is mostly unconfirmed at this point with the 30th anniversary of the Air Jordan 4 serving as the only safe bet as a focal point. Travis’ ability to add energy to a shoe on Super Bowl weekend would make one think Jordan Brand would hold back on one of his upcoming Air Jordan 1 collabs — already a surefire sellout — to amplify a bigger push or debut something new.
Or maybe the Nike Boy will don “What the Dunks” and push the SB undercurrent to a major mass wave.
Only time will tell, but we sure expect La Flame to bring the heat.
