Hanes can’t get enough of Michael Jordan. The basketball pro is yet again the star of new ads in an ongoing campaign for men's underwear, dubbed "Hanes Flight 23."
The TV spots, breaking this week, mark phase two of a Hanes campaign—via The Martin Agency—that kicked off in May. The ads highlight new underwear with Comfort Flex waistbands, which are more stretchable waistbands now included in all Hanes men's briefs, boxers and boxer briefs.
The initial ads [1] showed Jordan—who's been a Hanes spokesperson for nearly two decades—on a plane next to a chatterbox carpet salesman named Rick. Along with two TV spots, Hanes created a dozen other clips for its YouTube channel to promote the Lay Flat Collar T-shirts.
The new ads keep the same humorous tone and show Jordan still trapped on a flight with Rick. Jordan also keeps the "toothbrush mustache," which had the blogosphere buzzing [2] when the campaign first launched. "The beauty of the campaign is its ability to stay fresh and engaging," said Sidney Falken, svp of Hanes.
One spot, "Constructive Criticism," shows Rick getting a little too close to Jordan and offering criticism on his past commercials. He then shows Jordan his underwear waistband and proclaims that he prefers Hanes Comfort Flex by lunging up and down. The spot concludes with a voiceover: "The Comfort Flex waistband. Won't pinch. Won't bind. New from Hanes."
In another spot, called "Box Out," Rick critiques Jordan's basketball performances, particularly citing how Jordan doesn't "box out as fundamentally" as Rick would like. Jordan's seatmate calls over a flight attendant and illustrates how low he can get in his Hanes underwear while boxing out. A voiceover concludes the spot: "Hanes Comfort Flex waistbands. Moves with you, no matter how you move."
In addition to TV, the effort includes radio spots and "highly engaging video content that can be found on the Web," Falken said. The commercials will air on cable entertainment and sports networks, and online on YouTube.