It is May 2, 1999. The world is obsessed with Mark McGwire. "Big Mac" had just shattered the single-season home run record the year before, and every time he stepped into a batting cage, the world stopped spinning. Meanwhile, two of the greatest pitchers to ever lace up cleats—Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux—were watching from the sidelines, feeling a little bit like the guys who bring a salad to a backyard barbecue.
Then came the chicks dig the long ball commercial.
Nike dropped this 60-second masterpiece and changed baseball's cultural lexicon forever. It wasn't just an ad; it was a vibe. It captured a very specific moment in the late 90s when power hitting was everything and "finesse" pitching was, well, boring to the casual fan. If you weren't launching 500-foot moonshots, were you even playing the game?
The Premise: Cy Young Winners vs. The Home Run King
The commercial opens with Glavine and Maddux leaning against a fence, watching McGwire launch balls into orbit during batting practice. Standing nearby is Heather Locklear—at the peak of her Melrose Place fame—and a friend, both completely mesmerized by McGwire’s raw power.
"How long are they going to worship this guy?" Glavine asks, sounding genuinely annoyed.
"Hey, we've got Cy Young winners over here!" Maddux shouts toward the women.
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They get ignored. Totally ghosted. Locklear doesn't even look their way. She’s too busy watching Big Mac’s biceps ripple. This is the catalyst. The "Professor" and "Glav" decide that if they want the attention, they have to stop throwing strikes and start hitting dingers.
That Legendary Training Montage
What follows is one of the funniest sequences in sports advertising history. These two multi-millionaire Hall of Famers go into full "Rocky" mode, but for hitting.
You see them:
- Doing bicep curls with massive weights.
- Running stadium stairs while carrying bats.
- Flipping medicine balls back and forth.
- Drinking "protein" shakes (which probably tasted like chalk).
- Studying Ted Williams’ The Science of Hitting in the sauna.
There was even a scene they filmed where they were punching slabs of raw meat in a locker, though that didn't make the final cut. Tom Glavine later joked that they were basically the "Atlanta version of the Bash Brothers."
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By the end of the montage, they’re in the cage, sweating, grunting, and finally making contact. Then comes the payoff. Glavine rips a line drive, turns to the camera with a smug grin, and delivers the iconic line: "Chicks dig the long ball."
Why the Commercial Worked (And Still Does)
Honestly, this ad succeeded because it leaned into the absurdity of the era. The late 90s were the "Steroid Era," though we didn't talk about it as much back then. Everything was bigger—the players, the scores, the hype.
By taking two pitchers who were famous for being cerebral and "small" (relatively speaking) and forcing them into a meathead workout routine, Nike created a perfect parody. Greg Maddux looked more like your accountant than a pro athlete. Seeing him try to "beef up" was peak comedy.
The Heather Locklear Factor
You can't talk about the chicks dig the long ball commercial without mentioning Heather Locklear. She was the ultimate "it girl" of the 90s. Her cameo wasn't just eye candy; it provided the stakes. If a Cy Young award isn't enough to impress Heather Locklear, what hope do the rest of us have?
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Glavine later joked in interviews that he basically "saved her career" with that ad, though we all know Melrose Place was doing just fine. Still, the chemistry—or lack thereof—between the pitchers and the starlet made the joke land.
Fun Facts You Might Have Missed
- The Ad-Lib: That "Hey, have you guys seen Mark?" line Glavine says at the very end? Totally improvised. He was mocking the way the girls were acting, and the director loved it.
- The Missing Piece: John Smoltz, the third "Ace" of the Braves' legendary rotation, was reportedly pretty annoyed he wasn't included. Fans still joke that "chicks dig the long ball, but not the bald spot."
- The Shoes: While we remember the joke, the ad was technically for the Nike Air Max. McGwire was wearing them in the cage.
- The Irony: Today, Maddux and Glavine are in the Hall of Fame. Mark McGwire, due to the PED scandals, is not. The "finesse" guys got the last laugh in the history books.
The Cultural Legacy of a Catchphrase
The phrase "chicks dig the long ball" didn't stay in the 90s. It became a permanent part of the baseball dictionary. You hear it every time a pitcher hits a rare home run or when a team is built entirely on "three true outcomes" (walks, strikeouts, and homers).
It represented a shift in how we marketed baseball. It made the players seem human, funny, and self-aware. It showed that even the best in the world could feel a little insecure when someone else was getting all the headlines.
What You Can Learn From the "Long Ball" Strategy
If you're looking for some "expert" takeaways from a 25-year-old Nike ad, here's the reality:
- Self-Deprecation Sells: People love it when legends don't take themselves too seriously.
- Timing is Everything: This ad launched at the absolute peak of Home Run Mania. It wouldn't have worked as well in the dead-ball era or even today's pitch-clock era.
- Cross-Over Appeal: Mixing a TV superstar like Locklear with sports icons expanded the reach beyond just "baseball nerds."
If you haven't seen the commercial in a while, it's worth a rewatch on YouTube. It’s a 60-second time capsule of a wild era in sports. Just don't expect your bench press numbers to help your ERA.
Next Steps for You:
If you want to dive deeper into 90s sports nostalgia, I can help you track down the best "Bo Knows" commercials or look into the production behind the "Lil' Penny" Nike ads. Just let me know which era of sports marketing you want to explore next.