Michael Jordan vs. Bryon Russell - Stories People Want to Believe

Michael Jordan vs. Bryon Russell 1998 NBA Finals

Ok, so for those of you who hadn't heard. There was a huge PR stunt pulled in Utah this week by the owner of the Utah Flash. They're the local NBA D-League affiliate of the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics. It got alot of media attention and created alot of buzz, mostly negative with fans and people throughout the state.

This story goes back over 10 years ago, 1998 NBA Finals Michael Jordan hit a game winning shot over Bryon Russell to win the series and championship. In his Hall of Fame induction speech MJ made a remark about that game winning shot and Bryon Russell. That sent Bryon Russell off and he went on ESPN and challenged MJ to a little one-on-one basketball anytime any place.

Brandt Anderson and The Utah Flash

Brandt Anderson, the local owner of the Utah Flash saw a great opportunity to host that challenge at his season opener on Monday, December 7th in Orem, Utah. I had heard about it, but there wasn't a ton of buzz about it in the area until that day. One of my good friends called me up and asked if I'd heard about it. We decided it would be too good to pass up, so we picked up some tickets online and headed down to the game. I knew all along that it was simply a challenge, and that it might be a long shot for him to actually show up at a D-League event in Utah. I knew that I'd at least get $20 worth of entertainment by watching the game. That's all I expected, but thought it might be interesting if something did happen down there. In the end, it was a classic train wreck and I'm glad I got to watch the entire thing playout, because it was a great lesson on marketing and PR and how you can ride the fine line between truth and fiction.

I got a great line from my business partner who compared this stunt to when Michael Scott ("The Office") auctioned off front row tickets to Bruce Springsteen (he had no tickets). Earlier in the day, the Flash or someone associated with the Flash had put a look alike out in the community. They posted video on youtube and started to circulate it around town. Obvously that was to try to help create more buzz and get some last minute ticket sales. When halftime came, as I suspected Bryon Russell was there and came out with the challenge, but there was no Michael. They actually brought out an imposter to play it up. There are alot of people that went to the event who are angry. There are also alot of people that didn't go to the event that are calling people fools. It's all relative and unnecessary. The ticket I purchased was $20 for a half court lower bowl seat and said specifically "Utah Flash Vs. Dakota", not Michael vs. BRuss. In my mind, that's a pretty good value, I got to witness a train wreck and the Flash won at the end, which made it even better.

As a marketer, I was honestly impressed with the buzz that one guy and his marketing group were able to generate. However, the way in which it was pulled off with imposters and all the hype left a bad taste in alot of peoples mouths. If you look back at everything Brandt Anderson ever said about the event, it was clear that "Michael may not show up, but we're just not sure". Checkout this quote from Anderson on ESPN: "We've had some conversations, and I think there's a good possibility that he's going to be here. He'll say no he's not. If you ask him straight on he'll say no he won't. If you ask his people they'll say no he won't. You know what, I've probably said too much. But I think there's a good chance he might be here. Let's leave it at that."

It's pretty clear from reading that quote that he probably won't be there, but you never know... He's just leaving the door open and planting a seed of hope.

Was the line crossed?

There's a famous line in marketing and copy writing that I've often heard. You don't want to let the truth get in the way of a good story. The most successful marketers tell stories that people want to believe. There is a fine line though between telling a good story and deception. Where's the line? I think it was when they sent the fake MJ out around town, shoot video and post it to Youtube and attempt to pass it off as a legit Michael Jordan sighting.

In the end, I got to watch a great game of basketball and got a pretty good lesson on how a marketing campaign can go from exciting to a company to frustrating for it's consumers. I think some blame rests on both parties. If you bought a ticket to only see Michael Jordan, that's your fault. The company never published a press release, website ad or anything that would state that he would definitely be there. It was the story everyone wanted to believe. I'm not saying it's morally or ethically just, but the promotion did what it was intended to do, have some fun and sell some tickets.

Reprecussions

As soon as Bruss announced that it wasn't really Jordan, the damage control began. (Watch the video here) The crowed was pretty dazed, most people were booing and people were throwing back their free tshirts. Immediately the Flash started throwing out free swag and t-shirts. They also announced within minutes that the ticket would be valid for another game. Within hours Brandt Anderson posted a formal apology on his blog and explained his position. In the past day under pressure and hopes to salvage their reputation Brandt Anderson announced that all ticket holders could get a full refund on their tickets. Since the moment it happened, he's gotten ripped up and down on Twitter, checkout twitter comments here.

As an attendee to the game, I can honestly say I'm not upset or feel betrayed or cheated. It was very interesting to me from a marketing promotion standpoint, and even more interesting to watch the communities reaction and bad press and twitter posts. They wanted a reaction from Social Media, I'm just not sure this is the reaction they had hoped or planned on. It's been something to talk about in small town Utah that's for sure.