 Nike created a signature shoe for him , called the Air Jordan . One of Jordan 's more popular commercials for the shoe involved Spike Lee playing the part of Mars Blackmon . In the commercials Lee , as Blackmon , attempted to find the source of Jordan 's abilities and became convinced that " it 's gotta be the shoes " . The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a <unk> of " shoe @-@ <unk> " where people were robbed of their <unk> at <unk> . Subsequently , Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own division named the " Jordan Brand " . The company features an impressive list of athletes and celebrities as <unk> . The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina , <unk> , Georgetown , and Marquette . 
