Commercials for Michael Jordan cologne have arrived,...

Commercials for Michael Jordan cologne have arrived, and there’s nary a basketball in sight. Instead, there’s an action shot of Jordan chatting with school kids, and another of Jordan shaving his head.

According to Jim Smith of Ground Zero, the Venice-based advertising agency that produced the commercials, the spots go beyond the athlete and “get inside the real life of Michael.” Well, sort of. Jordan in real life isn’t learning Italian, as he is in one of the spots.

Each commercial features a silhouette of Jordan’s head; Ground Zero claims it is better recognized than the faces of Madonna or President Clinton. When shown photographs, 90% of consumers correctly identified the back of Jordan’s head. No other public figure scored higher than 80%, Ground Zero said.

Denise Gellene can be reached by fax at (213) 237-7837.

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