Horsin’ around: Larry Bird and Michael Jordan compete for a Big Mac.
If you are old enough to recall the 1990s, you most likely recall the Super Bowl commercial in which Michael Jordan and Larry Bird engaged in an epic H-O-R-S-E match in which a Big Mac was at stake.
Jackie Woodward has a clearer memory of the shoot than most of us do. She was present when director Joe Pytka collaborated with Jim Ferguson and Bob Shallcross from ad agency Leo Burnett to create the McDonald’s commercial in December 1992.
At the time, Woodward oversaw sports and celebrity marketing as a senior director at the massive fast-food chain. Paul Schrage, the CMO of McDonald’s, gave her boss’s approval for the advertisement, and Woodward was dispatched to the shoot to ensure everything went according to plan.
In an era before social media and cellphones, the advertisement, “The Showdown,” went on to win USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter, the ultimate indication of widespread favor.
Filming took place at Rosemont Horizon (renamed Allstate Arena in 1999), in Rosemont, Illinois, and Woodward recalls the headaches. The distance between the arena and O’Hare International Airport is not too great. “That day, the shoot took much longer than it should have because we were in the flight path,” she explained. “And I do remember that it was annoying for everyone.”
Woodward observed that Bird and Jordan “were talkative with people — these guys know their job and they show up and do it.” After Jasmine, Jordan’s daughter, was born, Woodward recalls Jordan strutting around with her.
As Jordan sits down with his lunch—a McDonald’s bag with a Big Mac and fries—Bird shoots baskets in an empty arena at the start of the commercial. After giving Jordan a challenge to play for it, Bird turns to face him and says, “First one to miss watches the winner eat.” He adds a warning shortly after, saying, “No dunking.”
After that, Jordan and Bird square off in a series of absurd shots where they bounce balls off the scoreboard and over the rafters. At the top of the 100-story John Hancock Center in Chicago, Bird and Jordan are seen scheming shots for the final scene. Woodward stated that post-production was used to enhance the visuals and scenes that give the advertisement its powerful impact.
“It speaks for itself that thirty years later, it’s still memorable,”
Because “The Showdown” became so successful, a 1994 Super Bowl sequel featuring Charles Barkley was released. Woodward was also there for that December 1993 shoot in Carefree, Arizona, which is close to Scottsdale.