Hasta La Creative!

Foot Locker is happy it can finally celebrate the upcoming Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight—for real.

Last fall, the shoe store released a commercial in which Pacquiao thought Mayweather had agreed to face him in the ring (when in reality, two guys he overheard at a gym were actually talking about a different wildly anticipated event … a sale at the retailer).

But now, with details of the May 2 match finalized—both fighters were committed as of February after years of failed negotiations, though an 11th hour impasse between promoters wasn’t resolved until Wednesday—Foot Locker is patting itself on the back for the old spot by running a new one, in which Pacquaio revisits the ups and downs of his false hope.

The boxer gets credit for self-deprecating charm, even if the whole thing is like the Russian nesting dolls version of a Foot Locker commercial. And while he may be confused in the end, rest assured that—as a manager type explains—the fight is, in fact, really happening.

That, even if the $90 pay per view price ($100 to watch the pros beat the crap out of each other in high definition) costs about the same as a pair of sneakers.

Check out the 2014 spot here:

CREDITS
Client: Foot Locker

Agency – BBDO New York
Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide – David Lubars
Chief Creative Officer,  New York – Greg Hahn
Executive Creative Director – Chris Beresford-Hill
Executive Creative Director – Dan Lucey
Copywriter – Mike Motch
Art Director – Austin Mankey
Director of Integrated Production – David Rolfe
Executive Producer – Anthony Curti

WW Senior Account Director – Troy Tarwater
Account Director – Janelle Van Wonderen
Account Manager – Nick Robbins
Account Executive – Samuel Henderson

Production Co – O Positive Films
Director – Kenny Herzog
Exec Producer – Ralph Laucella
Exec Producer – Marc Grill
Line Producer – Grayson Bithell
Director of Photography – Marc Laliberte
Editorial – MackCut
Editor – Erik Laroi
Executive Producer – Sasha Hirshfeld
Assistant Editor – Patrick Blumer

Sound – MackCut
Sound Mixer – Sam Shaffer

Online – Smigital
Flame – Jim Hayhow
Asst. Flame – Joseph Miller

Color – Company 3
Colorist – Tim Masick

Let me begin by stating the obvious: If you find yourself downing more than 3 Jager-bombs in one sitting, odds are your bro doesn’t have your back. Your bro is not a good bro, and you should consider bro-ing out with a new bro who won’t let such a terrible thing happen to you. Sorry, bro.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s take a look at the latest campaign for Jagermeister and LA-based indie shop Mistress titled “A Brother in Your Corner.” The concept of celebrating male companionship in alcohol ads is nothing new, especially in the beer category where things like “Man Law” are done time and time again. Instead of playing the concept for comedic effect, however, Jagermeister has decided to showcase legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach, whose long resume includes times spent in the corner of boxing champs like Oscar de la Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, and Julio Caesar Chavez. As the video illustrates, Roach has gained a reputation within the boxing community for taking extra special care of his fighters, both within the ring and outside of it. This devotion to his athletes, Roach says, was instilled in him by his own trainer, Eddie Futch, who himself gained fame for training legends like Joe Fraizer, Ken Norton, and Larry Holmes.

The campaign’s tone and focus seems targeted to an older, likely middle-aged bro, one who has actually heard of these fighters and knows anything about professional boxing as none of the fighters associated with Roach our Futch are named in the spot. Also, it’s hard to find many people under that age of 30 who know much about boxing, as MMA continues its climb upwards as boxing fades into irrelevance. The campaign also features a digital extension in which those young males who prove they live by the “Jager Code” compete for a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas for a private training session with Roach as well as tickets to an upcoming boxing match. For more info visit the Jager Code website and Jagermeister’s Facebook page. Credits after the jump.
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