‘Master of the Swish’: Polarizing NBA Star James Harden Throws Hilarious Shade at Wine Snobs in Ads for J-Harden Brand

A straight shooter: James Harden’s new wine commercials cut to the chase and poke fun at wine snobs. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

James Harden threw some shade at the wine snobs while promoting his new J-Harden brand in a series of commercials that are, for lack of a better phrase, a slam dunk. The Drinks Business reported on Wednesday all the details of the NBA player’s ads in the brand’s latest campaign.

One ad features Harden sitting on a couch in front of a decanter of red wine as provincial music plays. A pompous-sounding narrator waxes poetic about the “fine art of decanting,” evoking memories of those cringe Grey Poupon commercials of yesteryear. Eventually, Harden interrupts and says, matter-of-factly, “Look, just pour this thing, into this thing, into this thing.”

Another video describes Harden as the “Master of the Swish,” and continues to list off the qualities of different wine swishes until Harden glibly chimes in and says, “Swish, there it is.”

But there is a greater purpose behind these clever commercials.

“As a Black-owned business owner, I want to make wine more available to all communities. I want people to know that they can enjoy some of the finer things in life at an affordable price,” Harden said, according to The Drinks Business.

With countless celebrity booze brands clogging up the shelves of retail shops, Harden’s heart seems to be in the right place.

His label, J-Harden, launched in conjunction with Accolade Wines in July 2022. The reception was quite positive, and The Drinks Business reported that in August, fans in China purchased 10,000 bottles within a matter of seconds after Harden did a livestream with the influencer Xiao Yang.

“James has brought an elevated energy and enthusiasm to the wine industry through the launch of J-Harden Wines and its success over last year,” claimed J-Harden Marketing Director of the Americas Ming Alterman, according to The Drinks Business. “We’ve accomplished so much together in a short period of time, and the response from his fans and our consumers has been incredible.”

In March, Harden debuted a Prosecco expression.

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