Hasta La Creative!

In anticipation of tonight’s matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, ESPN is airing a new “This is SportsCenter” spot from W+K New York featuring Warriors star Steph Curry.

Curry joins SportsCenter anchors Stan Verrett and Neil Everett in the ESPN cafeteria, where he thanks two cooks for (accidentally) celebrating his recent performance on the court by serving chicken curry. The anchors try to convince Curry it’s a coincidence, but he’s not buying it, even after the cooks’ confused glances. It’s one of the more fun SportsCenter spots in a while, as, even if the premise is a little obvious, Curry plays his part well enough to make it work.

There’s also a “Kitchen Warriors” installment in which Steph squares off against his wife, Ayesha Curry, to see who can make the better chicken curry. With their daughter Riley as the judge, it soon becomes clear Steph’s skills are on the court, not in the kitchen.

Note: credits only apply to the first spot; “Kitchen Warriors” was created by the client.

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W+K New York have a new “This is SportsCenter” spot for ESPN featuring Metallica.

The agency has some fun with the idea that with Mariano Rivera now retired, Metallica doesn’t have a lot to do around the ESPN offices. Metallica looks for other athletes in need of entrance music, with less than satisfactory results, as well as other things to do around the office. Hosts Jay Harris, Scott Van Pelt and Stuart Scott also appear in the spot, which debuts today in anticipation of tonight’s Gillette Home Run Derby. The spot neglects to mention that Metallica still provide entrance/walk-up music for players including Rays reliever Grant Balfour, Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon and White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, but then that would kind of ruin the premise. Stick around for credits after the jump. (more…)

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With the FIFA World Cup set to kick off next week, the ESPN marketing onslaught continues, this time starring U.S, National Team midfielder Michael Bradley, who co-stars alongside the WWL’s anchor Bram Weinstein in the latest SportsCenter spot from W+K New York. In the :30 clip above, Bradley’s accompanied by a little sidekick as he makes his rounds throughout the Bristol campus of ESPN, which holds the English-language rights for the World Cup, which takes place place as you might know in Brazil.

This latest effort marks the 400th-plus “This is SportsCenter” spot from the network, which also marks its eighth World Cup broadcast. It’s a more subdued than previous ads, though the tinge of dry humor remains intact, and yes, this one’s for the kids (after all, the little ones accompany each player in the pitch). O Positive director David Shane once again returns to the fold, following up his Bubba Watson-starring SportsCenter spot from two months ago with a well-timed piece that has chanting USA ahead of the world’s biggest stage.

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In anticipation of the impending Master’s Tournament, W+K New York has launched two new spots in their long-running “This Is SportsCenter” series, starring 2012 Master’s champion Bubba Watson.

In the first spot, Watson, whose “miracle” shot to get out of a difficult lie helped him win the Master’s, finds himself in another tricky situation in ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut office, with the Stanford Cardinal mascot blocking their way. Watson and caddy Ted Scott try to decide how to proceed, when SportsCenter anchor Kevin Negandhi shows them the way without really thinking about it. The spot delivers the kind of fun goofiness we’ve come to expect from the “This Is SportsCenter” series and shouldn’t disappoint, especially for fans of Watson.

The 15-second “Pencils” is a little more straightforward, but no less fun, with Watson’s incessant sharpening of scorecard pencils posing a distraction for anchor Jay Harris. First and second round play of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club will be televised on ESPN from 3-7:30 on Thursday and Friday, April 10-11. Stick around to view “Pencils” and credits after the jump. continued…

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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.

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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.

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