W+K New York isn’t the only agency that’s been focused on football recently — and for good reason.
Not only is the NFL about to start things up again, but this year’s college football season will be the first in history to discard the traditional Bowl Championship Series for a true four-team seeded playoff.
The first spot in W+K’s new campaign to promote client ESPN’s college coverage casts fandom as a universal experience…something everyone has “in common”:
A second :15 spot, which also debuts today, highlights some possible shakeups in the world of collegiate pigskin: will the new format allow an underdog to win the day?
Yes, we’re still technically living in the Summer of ’14, ten days away from the first game of the 2014 NFL season and two weeks away from the year’s first edition of Monday Night Football, that follow-up to Sunday Night Football or “the only reason anyone still watches NBC.”
In order to maximize the hype, ESPN and NFL films have teamed up with AOR Wieden+Kennedy New York to create a series of slow-mo, documentary-style spots showcasing the sport’s best players as they make their way toward the field in support of a new tagline: “No Other Night Is Monday Night.”
It’s like a WWE intro with less HGH and other assorted acronyms. Here’s “Tunnel”, which officially launched today:
Don’t worry, there’s plenty of Manning to go around after the jump.
W+K New York has a new campaign for ESPN, promoting the network’s coverage of college football and stoking fans’ excitement for the first year of the college football playoffs.
The campaign, entitled “Who’s In?” will run from the start of the season until a National Champion is crowned in January. “Different Ways In” (featured above), the campaign’s debut spot, launches today across ESPN’s networks and digital properties. Narrated by Burt Reynolds, the 60-second spot manages to cram in references to 20 different schools, as well as cameos from Jerry Jones, Jimmy Kimmel, Urban Meyer, Les Miles, Sam Bradford and JJ Watt. That’s not a bad way to stoke excitement from fans of different schools for the FBS College Football Season on ESPN, which begins Wednesday, August 27. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)
More from W+K, as W+K New York have unveiled their latest “This is Sportscenter” offering.
The 30 second spot, “Long Week,” celebrates Super Bowl XLVIII with a fun look at the rivalry between Denver Broncos’ mascot Miles and Seattle Seahawks’ mascot Blitz. Set in an elevator on ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut campus, the spot stars SportsCenter hosts Jay Crawford and Steve Levy, who witness a tense, awkward exchange between the rival mascots. Credit has to go to director Jim Jenkins and the guys playing the mascots for perfect comedic timing. At the end of the spot, Everett and Levy reveal that the two mascots have been engaging in such behavior all week. Hopefully Miles and Blitz don’t kill each other before the big game.
The timely “Long Week” is designed to promote ESPN’s weeklong coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII, which began yesterday with ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike kicking off 115 hours of TV and radio programming from New York City. ESPN’s programming originates from their Herald Square and Times Square Studios all week, up until Superbowl Sunday. Keep an eye out for “Long Week” during that coverage. Credits after the jump. continued…
We catch Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Kevin Love and NBA commentator Mike Breen in medias res, driving through some nondescript green chunk of Basketballville in the latest NBA on ESPN RV spot from W+K New York. With Breen’s steady hand at the wheel, Love turns to the passenger side window and notices a large billboard featuring his sultry face and a phone hotline called The Love Dial. They drive a bit farther and pass a second billboard. Love has no idea who’s behind this, so like any great detective, he decides to call the number. Another man picks up – it’s Love’s teammate/on-court soulmate Ricky Rubio, moonlighting as a sex-hotline entrepreneur in a dingy room that also has a video camera set-up to film something. I guess there isn’t much to do in Minnesota.
“Billboard” may not be as funny as a few of the more recent RV spots ESPN uses to promote its NBA coverage, but the clip has some edgy subject matter compared to the usually benign hijinks. The network probably won’t push the envelope any more than this, but this 30-second ad is an interesting sidestep in the NBA on ESPN commercial canon. Credits after the jump.
We’ve covered a few W+K New York RV spots for NBA on ESPN in the past here at Agency Spy including this recent effort. In the latest installments including the one above dubbed “Notebook,” we have yet another healthy dose of awkward humor from the cavalcade of ESPN and Association talent.
The spot features NBA commentator Mike Breen, Warriors head coach/former ESPN analyst Mark Jackson and his shooting star, Steph Curry. The trio stumbles upon Jackson’s old draft notebook while storing luggage, complete with some rather unflattering notes on Curry. Predictably, this results in the comic awkwardness that’s been synonymous with this ongoing campaign and continues the long line of funny RV spots W+K NY has created for ESPN.
The second spot of the campaign, “Clapper,” is not as noteworthy. It features Breen and Curry in some by-now old hat clapper humor. You can view this quick spot and credits after the jump.
Another day, another team-up between ESPN and W+K. “Inner Monologue,” the latest 30-second NBA on ESPN RV ad created by W+K New York, answers very important questions about the crew’s sleeping arrangements. Yes, some players and analysts do have to bunk up. Bulls All-Star center Joakim Noah has to sleep in the same bed as ESPN kingpin Bill Simmons, even though neither of them are happy with the situation. Noah, who stands 6’11″, probably has a better argument than Simmons, who is listed at an unconvincing 6’2″. Simmons, for all his Boston sports proclivities, is in bed with a Bull. He’s actually sleeping with the enemy. But wait…as with most of the RV spots, there’s a Jeff Van Gundy punchline. And as usual, it’s the best part of the clip. Not only is Van Gundy funny-looking, but if you’ve been following his RV escapades, whether getting stuck on the stunt double vehicle or trading glasses with Russell Westbrook, you know that JVG is also funny. And in a sports media world that is often lacking in self-deprecation and humor, the silly shtick from the NBA on ESPN panel is always nice to see. Credits after the jump.
After taking a different direction with their last SportsCenter spot, W+K New York and ESPN have gone back to what has made the “This Is SportsCenter” series so popular, employing humorous situations in the network’s Bristol HQ.
The spot, “Double Double,” stars Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Love as the guy responsible for pushing the coffee cart that keeps the SportsCenter crew caffeinated (UCLA mascot Joe Bruin can also be seen in the spot). This is an important job, because, as anchor Scott Van Pelt says, the SportsCenter crew relies “pretty heavily on the coffee cart” to keep going throughout the day. Love’s specialty is making “the best double-double,” which is two double espressos. Host Stan Verrett swears by Kevin’s double-doubles. In fact, he’s a little too fond of them. He requests another double-double from Love while he still has his two espressos in-hand, but Kevin says “I think maybe you should slow down.” Verrett continues to hound Love for more espresso as the spot goes on, with Kevin responsibly telling him he should just get through his show. At some point Love must have given in, and the results on Stan Verrett‘s show are pretty funny, as well as startling to co-host Neil Everett.
It’s a return to form for W+K, who play to their strengths with “Double Double.” The strategy seen here has worked for the “This Is Sportscenter” series in the past, and “Double Double” is the best SportsCenter spot in recent memory, with a good setup and comedic payoff thanks to Love and Verrett’s delivery. Let’s hope agency and brand continue sticking with what works in the future. Credits after the jump. continued…
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