He created new lyrics while inside a restaurant he frequently brainstormed at.
The story of Michael Jordan might not have featured this chapter. His mock-up was quickly embraced by all parties involved.īut Pitzel still had to get approval from Disney to use the “Jungle Book.” Ultimately, they scratched the idea since Disney asked for too much money. Per Gary Gerard Hamilton of the Associated Press, the advertising executive shared that he was inspired by Disney’s 1967 film “The Jungle Book” and altered several lines to the song which was initially titled “I Wanna Be Like You”. However, according to the song's creator, Bernie Pitzel, the song almost never made it public since he felt it was lackluster at first and mimicked Michael Jordan’s early Nike commercials.
The ad on Michael Jordan was even remastered during Gatorade's 50th anniversary back in 2015. The 1991 Gatorade commercial featuring Michael Jordan, mentioned in The Last Dance, continues to be one of the most recognizable ads of all time, mainly due to the popularity of its catchy tune “Be Like Mike.”
