Nike and Wieden & Kennedy unleash a Super Bowl spectacle for the ages, combining live-action with animation, and Michael Jordan with Bugs Bunny.

Ad Age reviewer Bob Garfield said the spot made Bugs Bunny "the hero of the 1992 Super Bowl."

"Hare Jordan" was all the more impressive for following Nike's excellent first two Super Bowl ads, also by Wieden & Kennedy, in 1990 ("Announcers") and 1991 ("Heritage").

"Once again Nike, Wieden & Kennedy, and director Joe Pytka have contrived a clever, funny, eye-catching superproduction that rates 3 1/2 stars," Garfield wrote. 

Nike had been pleased with the results of its first two big-game outings. "It's genuine sports and we're a genuine sports company,'' Nike executive Scott Bedbury told USA Today before its third appearance. "If I just wanted male ratings points, there are other ways to do it more cheaply.'' 

The spot ultimately won USA Today's fourth annual Super Bowl Ad Meter, the increasingly influential gauge of entertainment value among a small panel of viewers.

Director/director of photography: Joe Pytka, who would also direct "Space Jam," the 1996 Jordan-and-Bugs movie inspired by "Hare Jordan" and 1993's "Aerospace Jordan," through Nike didn't join the bevy of marketers that signed on as promotional partners. Production Company: Pytka.

Executive creative directors/creative directors: Dan Wieden, David Kennedy. Agency producer: Donna Portaro. Art director: Darryl MacDonald. Copywriter: Jim Riswold.

VFX: YFG/FX. Sound company: Sony Studios. Music/sound: Emoto. Editorial: Red Car. Editor: Rob Watske.

BRAND: Nike

YEAR: 1992

AGENCY: Wieden & Kennedy

SUPERBOWL: XXVI

QUARTER AIRED: Q1