Jim Riswold: Revolutionary Advertising Executive and Nike Innovator

Jim Riswold: A Trailblazer in Advertising

Jim Riswold, an iconic and unconventional advertising executive, whose imaginative and sometimes controversial Nike commercials featuring sports legends like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Bo Jackson transformed the landscape of product endorsements, passed away on August 9 at his residence in Portland, Oregon. He was 66 years old.

Mr. Riswold, who had battled various forms of cancer for two decades, shared the news of his passing on Instagram through a heartfelt statement posted by his children, which read, “Okay, I’m dead now.” His family later confirmed that the cause of death was interstitial lung disease, worsened by metastatic prostate cancer.

Colleagues and even competitors often described him as an “idiot savant” and likened him to the Michael Jordan of advertising. Known for his exasperating brilliance, Mr. Riswold boldly claimed — and rightly so — that he had revolutionized television commercials, transforming them into a captivating form of entertainment that often surpassed the allure of the programs they interrupted.

His work with Nike included memorable collaborations with director Spike Lee, resulting in a series of commercials that became cultural milestones. Together, they created over a dozen iconic ads for Air Jordan shoes over a span of 16 years, further embedding Nike into the fabric of pop culture.

As Susan Hoffman, his long-time colleague at Wieden+Kennedy — the globally renowned advertising agency he helped shape in Portland — remarked in an interview, “Jim had this incredible sense of how you can meld advertising and culture together and make it truthful and entertaining.” She continued, “He was brilliant. You never wanted to tell him that, though.”

Mr. Riswold attributed his success in advertising to a unique perspective: he believed that advertising, at its core, was trivial. This unconventional viewpoint allowed him to approach his work with a refreshing creativity that captivated audiences and left an indelible mark on the industry.