Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum Featured in Updated Like Mike Ad
Decades after his retirement, Michael Jordan is the unlikely breakout star of the pandemic shutdown. ESPN’s 10-part documentary on Jordan and the 1998 Bulls, Last Dance, has been a hit in the ratings and in social media trends. Parts five and six aired on Sunday night.
The latest installments of the series included a section on Jordan’s endorsement deals, including the classic Gatorade “Like Mike” commercial.
To celebrate the renewed interest in Jordan, Gatorade has updated the ad, including current NBA stars and former Duke Blue Devils Zion Williamson and Jayson Tatum.
Williamson is shown dunking in an empty gym, which is immediately followed by a shot from the original ad, showing an impressed Jordan reacting.
Later, Tatum is shown dunking on a playground hoop.
Tatum and Williamson are the only current NBA players shown in the ad. WNBA star Della Donne of the Washington Mystics is also shown.
Gatorade told Forbes that the hope is that the new ad “inspires new generations of athletes to be like Mike…then, now and forever.”
Williamson signed with Jordan brand coming out of Duke. His rookie year with the New Orleans Pelicans, who drafted him first overall, was delayed by an injury that cost him the first two months of the season. Obviously, the pandemic forced the sport to shut down, which has caused his season to also potentially end early.
In his three years since leaving Duke as a one-and-done, Tatum has developed into an All-Star and one of the NBA’s up-and-coming stars with the Boston Celtics.