Portland, Oregon full service agency Must Be Something launched a celebrity-filled 60-second spot for Nike touting the brand’s Air Zoom Elite 8, entitled “Find Your Fast.”
In a marriage of form and function, the ad, directed by Chappelle Show co-creator Neal Brennan, flies by at a frenetic pace, cutting from one celebrity athlete to the next in its promotion of the fast running shoe. Among the thirteen athletes in the ad are Kobe Bryant, Serena Williams, Wayne Rooney, Rafael Nadal, Richard Sherman, Odell Beckam Jr. and Allyson Felix. In other words, the spot features as many celebrity athletes as it can muster, as quickly as it can. If that’s still not fast enough for you, the ad sandwiches “The World’s Fastest Ad” (with David Blaine and Kobe Bryant) in the middle of the action, complete with a cameo by the epitome of quickness: Roadrunner. As part of the campaign, Nike is calling on viewers to log their fastest-ever mile via the Nike+ community by August 30th.
After winning the Turkish Airlines business last September, CP+B’s “Selfie Shootout” spot for the brand, starring Lionel Messi and Kobe Bryant, went viral, eventually reaching over 138 million views to become the most watched ad of the year on YouTube. CP+B brought back Messi again this year for the follow-up effort, this time pairing him with fellow soccer star Didier Drogba for the third and final spot in a series that began with the 2012 “Legends on Board” spot from Turkish agency Alametifarika, also starring Messi and Bryant.
In the new spot, called “Epic Food,” Drogba travels to different locations around the world for exotic meals (showcasing all the places Turkish Airlines flies to). At each restaurant he visits, however, he finds a photo of Messi, who has already been there. This only strengthens his resolve to find a place Messi has yet to visit, upping the ante with places farther and farther off the beaten path. If you enjoyed the previous spots in the series, chances are you’ll like this one as well. If not, “Epic Food” doesn’t change the formula up enough to change your mind. The spot will be hard pressed to outdo last year’s “Selfie Shootout,” this time without Bryant along for the ride, but should go viral even if it doesn’t reach quite the same level of success.
The 60-second spot is supported by an initiative calling on viewers to upload their own epic travel photos through EpicFoodMap.com with a competition offering a chance to win a trip to the locations featured in the commercial. Drogba and Messia will be kicking it off themselves, on November 18th, with their favorite foods. (more…)
Global design firm AKQA and ubiquitous shoe manufacturer Nike have collaborated on a full-size LED basketball court for Nike Rise, a program designed to train Chinese youth based on the techniques and practice drills of Kobe Bryant.
Called House of Mamba (a reference to Kobe’s Black Mamba nickname), the LED court guides and reacts to the players’ movements with an impressive range of visual displays, to the point where you wonder how the athletes aren’t distracted by it.
Nike Rise centered on a reality show where 30 Chinese teens trained with Kobe and LeBron James, and three of them will go on to the Nike World Basketball Festival next month.
72andSunny has a new campaign for longtime gay rights supporter YouTube, entitled “ProudToPlay.” The star-studded campaign celebrating diversity in sports is set to run through the end of June, which is LGBT Pride Month, reports AdWeek.
In addition to gay athletes such as Jason Collins, Michael Sam and Robbie Rogers, the spot also features clips of Nelson Mandela, President Obama and Kobe Bryant talking about the unifying power of sports and the importance of gay rights. Set to Katy Perry‘s “Roar,” the “#ProudToPlay” video clocks in at two minutes, ending with a rainbow soccer ball YouTube logo tying the spot to the impending World Cup in Brazil (as does some of the footage used). “#ProudToPlay” is already getting a lot of attention. Since its launch yesterday, the video has racked up almost 3 million views (and an unfortunate but completely expected rash of homophobic comments).
“We applaud the courage and openness of athletes at all levels who have come out and admire their teammates, friends, families, and supporters who are all proving that it doesn’t matter who you are or who you love—what matters is that you put forward your best effort,” YouTube wrote in a blog post. “We stand with our community in the belief that youth everywhere should all have the same opportunities to grow up and pursue their dreams and passions, on or off the field.”
For the remainder of the month, YouTube will be sharing a collection of videos about the LGBT community and sports on the YouTube Spotlight Channel, and invites users to upload their own videos “talking about what being #ProudToPlay means to you.”
Kobe Bryant doesn't just play pianos. He makes them.
Or so it would appear from the opening scenes of this new ad from Wieden + Kennedy pitching "The Kobe Piano," from which "every note [is] a comedy and tragedy that would make Shakespeare laugh and weep. It will turn piano boys into piano men. It will make Lionel Richie's tears cry tears."
Turns out it's an elaborate metaphor for a line of shoes designed by Bryant for Foot Locker and Nike. The collection, the ad informs us, is the "grandest grand collection of grand collections." And yes, Richie himself makes a cameo—adding to his own commercial lore in the process.
While the voiceover copy is a bit Old Spicey, the ad blends the winking melodrama of "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" with a healthy heaping of mock pretension, à la Bryan Cranston selling an iPad, and a dash of good old-fashioned Ron Swanson style woodworking.
It has the obligatory sports-stats reference. It's beautifully shot and well paced, and entertaining enough. It makes its point, however circuitously, that the product is like a finely crafted instrument.
A second spot, meanwhile, likens the collection to the invention of a better, stronger lightbulb—complete with a shattering sledgehammer and the ability to make even Judah Friedlander look dapper. Sorry, ladies. It's just another metaphor for sneakers.
Credits below.
CREDITS Clients: Nike and Foot Locker Campaign: "Made by Kobe"
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore. Creative Directors: Don Shelford, Rob Thompson Copywriter: Adam Noel Art Director: Jon Kubik Producer: Shannon Worley Executive Agency Producer: Matt Hunnicutt Account Team: Jordan Muse, Heather Morba Executive Creative Directors: Mark Fitzloff, Susan Hoffman, Joe Staples
Production Company: Traktor Towers Director: Traktor Executive Producer: Rani Melendez Line Producer: Rani Melendez Director of Photography: Bojan Bozelli
Editing Company: Stitch Editorial Editor: Andy McGraw Assistant Editor: Alex Tedesco Post Producer: Chris Girard Post Executive Producer: Juliet Batter
Visual Effects Company: The Mill Visual Effects Executive Producer: LaRue Anderson Flame Artists: James Allen, Glyn Tebbutt Visual Effects Producers: Dan Roberts, Antonio Hardy Titles, Graphics: Justin Morris
Music, Sound Company: Beacon Street Studios Composers: John Nau, Andrew Feltenstein Sound Designer: Mike Franklin Songs: "Out of the Woods" ("Piano"), "The Wunder r3" ("Lightbulb") Executive Producer: Leslie Dillullo
Mix Company: Beacon Street Studios Mixer: Mike Franklin Assistant Engineer: Dewey Thomas Producer: Caitlin Rocklin
W+K’s trademark nonsensical humor is on full display in their latest, the new spot “Made by Kobe” promoting Kobe Bryant‘s Kobe 9 Collection for Nike, which launched on March 6th.
The spot imagines what it would be like if Kobe Bryant designed a piano: “It will turn piano boys into piano men. It will make Lionel Richie‘s tears cry tears.” Lionel Richie actually appears in the spot, tear slowly rolling down his cheek while he plays the piano, adding to the humorous tone. After talking up the hypothetical Kobe Piano, which looks pretty badass, the narrator introduces the “Made by Kobe*” Kobe 9 Collection. Although the product reveal comes 50 seconds into the 75 second spot, the sidelined Lakers star can be seen wearing his new line throughout the commercial.
The spot is exactly what we’ve come to expect from W+K, calling to mind some of their well-known past hits, like their famous work for Old Spice. The formula may be starting to show signs of age, but W+K still has a big leg up on the countless competitors attempting to imitate this kind of work. “Made by Kobe” will run until March 27th. Now if they’d only release that piano for real. Stick around for credits after the jump.
*Kobe is the name of a 12-year-old Chinese boy who works around the clock to handcraft the Kobe 9 Collection for 2 cents an hour. continued…
Agency Greens & Salad teamed up with global production company Great Guns for a stylish, star-studded new ad for Nike Flyknit.
Entitled “Light. Strong. Nike Flyknit,” the 1:20 spot was directed by Paul Shearer and Vincent Laforet, and features Kobe Bryant, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, Olympic Gold Medalist Allyson Felix, decathlon world record holder Ashton Eaton, and world champion distance runner Mo Farah. The spot withholds any dialogue or voiceover, instead relying on footage of its star athletes training in their Nike Flyknits delivered with a visual flair (courtesy of “a Red Epic and Phantom camera, on a combination of tracking vehicles, Movi and Steadicam rigs”) to make its product look good. Kobe takes center stage, both the first and last athlete featured, but otherwise screen time is share fairly equitably. The spot debuted globally this week, in anticipation of the Super Bowl and the NBA All Star Game (for which voting results were just revealed).
If the Nike Flyknit spot has whet your appetite for more Richard Sherman, never fear. Stay tuned for a timely Beats ad featuring the Seahawks star cornerback, along with credits for “Light. Strong. Nike Flyknit” after the jump. continued…
Last year, Lionel Messi and Kobe Bryant faced off in an ad for Turkish Airlines, competing for a young fan’s attention. The ad, “Legends on Board,” became a gigantic viral success, now with over 105 million views on YouTube.
For better or for worse (definitely for worse), 2013 might as well be the “Year of the Selfie.” The ubiquitous word found its way into the vocabulary of everyone from grade schoolers to their grandparents and was even named Oxford English Dictionary’s Word of the Year. If you’re sick of hearing people jump at every opportunity to use this word, we’re with you. At any rate, it’s undeniable that the selfie has won itself a lasting position in our culture.
In an attempt to recapture the success of last year’s “Legends on Board” spot, CP+B has brought back the Bryant Vs. Messi formula, this time positioning the two in a “Selfie Shootout” in which each attempts to one-up the other with self-shot photos in exotic locations. The spot is the first ad CP+B put together for Turkish Airlines since winning ad duties for the airline back in September, and it’s a fine first effort. Without giving too much away I can say that Bryant and Messi both jump through hoops to one-up each other, and their photos get more and more exotic and over-the-top as the minute long spot progresses. CP+B manage to work something of a surprise ending into “The Selfie Shootout,” incorporating another Internet photo phenomenon.
Can “The Selfie Shootout” hope to match the success of “Legends on Board”? We would say yes. The entertaining ad incorporates the selfie phenomenon, has a much larger production budget than Alametifarika’s work last year, and is designed to jumpstart conversation. “The Selfie Shootout,” which was uploaded to YouTube yesterday, has already surpassed the 5 million view mark, and is certainly not showing any signs of slowing down. Its combination of star power, humor, and topical references make it just about unstoppable. Make no mistake, people will be talking about this one for some time. Our reservations about the overuse of “selfie” aside, we can’t blame them. “The Selfie Shootout” is just plain fun. Credits after the jump. continued…
In a follow-up to the earlier NBA 2K14 spot which heralded Lebron James‘s first game cover, Zambezi returns with the official launch ad for the game featuring who most believe is the best in b-ball today. Yours truly hasn’t been much of a gamer since Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2 were in existence, but hell, we’re down to revisit the days when we were on fire in NBA Jam. Along with the spot, Zambezi curated an interview with the one and only Michael Jordan dubbed “Uncensored” in what perhaps the greatest basketball player ever actually goes against the grain and dubs Kobe Bryant the only one he probably couldn’t beat in the NBA today. Well, he did emulate his style to perfection after all, so maybe MJ’s on to something. Credits and the Jordan interview after the jump.
Details are hazy at this point, but as mentioned above, sources familiar with the matter confirm that Crispin Porter + Bogusky has taken over ad duties for Turkish Airlines, the carrier that last we recall brought us an amusing campaign starring two of the greatest in their respective sports, Kobe Bryant and Lionel Messi. The ad dubbed “Legends on Board” was created by hometown agency Alametifarika, though we haven’t received word if said agency participated in the review for the Turkish global account. We’ll keep you posted if and when we have more info.
Lenovo has moved on (at least for the moment) from comparing itself to Apple to having Kobe Bryant play Beethoven on the piano with symphonic accompaniment for no reason. Really. There's barely a connection made between Lenovo's product line and Kobe in this Chinese spot, though there are worse things in life than gratuitous piano playing. For those of you who are surprised that Kobe had this talent, check out his six-second video that was the inspiration for the ad. He has said the Moonlight Sonata, in particular "calms me down when I reach my breaking point."
LeBron James may have a South Beach mansion full of trophies, but until yesterday, he had yet to accomplish one basketball-related goal: gracing the cover of a video game. NBA 2K14 won’t hit stores until the fall, but last night, viewers of the NBA Finals on ABC got to watch the introductory ad – created by Zambezi – where James announces his plan to join past coverboys like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. For 2K Sports, having the best basketball player in the world endorsing your basketball product is not too shabby, either.
Lost in all of this is the noble presence of Steve Kerr, once the foil to MJ in the NBA, and now, the foil to Marv Albert in NBA broadcasting. Kerr plays the role of “2K Investigator” in the commercial’s somewhat-lame hook. But when a six-foot white guy who couldn’t dunk gets into a basketball video game commercial, everyone wins.
As the NBA pivots from the conference semifinals to the league championship series, its ads naturally have shifted from memorable moments in the playoffs ("Big is now") to images from past NBA Finals ("Forever is big"). Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers star in the first two NBA Finals ads, which were created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Each execution freezes on a key shot each star took en route to a team championship. The action then shifts to the same frozen image as it appears on a cake, in action figures, etc. The latest spot, from the NBA's production arm, NBA TV, celebrates past winning teams with a montage that dates back to the old Minneapolis Lakers of the 1950s. Lots of basketball icons here, from the Celtics' Bill Russell and the Knicks' Willis Reed to the Lakers' Magic Johnson, the Bulls' Michael Jordan and the Heat's LeBron James, who smiles broadly amid a sweet spray of champagne. Daniel Meiseles was executive producer on this celebratory ad, known as "Finally Forever."
Nike placed this ad in Sunday's Los Angeles Times (and in social media), honoring Kobe Bryant following his season-ending injury. It's classic Nike—simple, rhythmic, inspirational. It's also sly. It reads like a career retrospective, until the last line, when it's revealed to be anything but. From Tiger Woods to Bryant, you can always count on Nike never to be boring. Full text of the ad below.
"You showed us that an 18-year-old could play with the best. You showed us that a championship, an exhibition game and a charity event are all must-wins. You showed us how to play chess while others played checkers. You showed us how to hit game winner after game winner. You showed us that an 81-point game is a real thing. You showed us that gold still matters. You showed us how to take an ice bath. You showed us how to score 30 points in a quarter, twice. You showed us the Mamba Face. You showed us how to demand perfection and demand it of everyone. You showed us how to put big-boy pants on. You showed us that you were never out of it. Ever. You showed us how inspirational a pair of free throws could be.
Now, show us again."
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