Nike - Bo's hip / Denis Leary & Bo Jackson (1991) :60 (USA)

Nike wasn't about to abandon Bo Jackson, and the fantastic "Bo Knows" concept, not even after he suffered a serious hip injury and fought his way back into sports. For this ad, they pulled out the big guns, the angry everyman comedian Denis Leary, and let it rip.

Denis Leary comes at us with his belligerent sarcastic tone, and is visually in our face speaking directly to the camera as if can see us.

"Hey, no more questions about Bo’s hip, OK! No more questions about football, baseball, and advertising. Shut up! You thought it was over? Wrong! It ain’t over until the hip socket sings. OK?"

Bo excelled in football and baseball, winning the Heisman Trophy and setting a record as the only NFL player to score two rushing touchdowns of over 90 yards. He played in the Pro Bowl for the Los Angeles Raiders and the All-Star Game for the Kansas City Royals. Bo is too big for just one sport. Bum hip or not.

Denis Leary continues admonishing us viewers:

"So Bo’s got a bum hip. So what? Look what he’s doing with that hip. He’s hitting the bike. He’s hitting the weights. He’s wearing the shoes. As a matter of fact, he's in the pool wearing the shoes, riding the bike with a hundred and twenty pounds of weights strapped to his neck. OK?"

"And what are you and your good hip doing right now? WATCHING COMMERCIALS! I think you hear me knocking. And I think I’m coming in. And I think I’m bringing Bo and his big, bad hip with me!"

Client: Nike
Ad Agency: Weiden and Kennedy

Production company: Pytka
Director: Joe Pytka

Principal talent: Denis Leary, Bo Jackson