Bird & Curry, Parker & Lavine Return For Fresh CarMax ‘Call Your Shot’ Campaign Ads

CarMax rolled out the third iteration of its ongoing ‘Call Your Shot’, basketball themed ad series which sees its team up with superstars Sue Bird, Stephen Curry, Zach Levine and Candace Parker and leverage its partnerships with the NBA and WNBA.

The campaign, which spanned broadcast TV and social channels, is built around fun spots playfully showcasing how CarMax customers have confidence and feel empowered when buying or selling a car and they tipped off at the start of the new hoops season with a trio of ads.

‘Instant Offers’ sees Steph Curry decide to sell his car to CarMax and gets an Instant Online Offer valid for a seven days, but instead of using the week to shop around he sets up home at CarMax and becomes the unofficial ‘captain’ of the in-store team.

‘30-Day Money-Back Returns’ sees WNBA number one draft picks Sue Bird and Candace Parker have trouble deciding whether they ‘like’ or ‘love’ their new car while an employee suggests they take their time making up their minds because CarMax’s ‘Love Your Car Guarantee’ comes with a 30-day guarantee – no matter if it’s the customer’s first or seventh pick (at the mention of the seventh pick, Steph Curry arrives and the two female basketball legends explain how CarMax puts everyone on equal footing.

‘Money Back Guarantee’ sees Steph Curry pitch himself as the face of CarMax’s newest offering – the SC30-Day Money Back Guarantee – as he thinks it seems like a match made in basketball heaven until an employee politely points out that 30-Day returns already come with CarMax’s ‘Love Your Car Guarantee’.

According to the brand, further spots in the series will roll out through the autumn.

The latest wave of work was created in partnership with sports agency Wasserman, creative agency The Martin Agency and it was produced by Valiant Pictures with Director Danney Corey.

The campaign was briefed by and created for a CarMax team which included EVP & Chief Marketing Officer Jim Lyski, VP Marketing Strategy Sarah Lane, VP Creative Yujin Heo, Director Of Content & Sponsorship Michael Reeder, Senior Manager Of Brand Experience Strategy Jaryn Creasy, Senior Manager Of Integrated Marketing Strategy Ryan Manion and Senior Consultant Of Marketing Operations Katie Hanson.

The creative team which conceived and executed the campaign at The Martin Agency included Chief Executive Officer Kristen Cavallo, Chief Creative Officer Danny Robinson, SVP Executive Creative Director Ashley Marshall, SVP Group Creative Director Anne Marie Hite, Creative Director Allison Rude, Creative Director Lindsey King, Associate Creative Director Graham Unterberger, Associate Creative Director Dustin Dodd, Account Leadership Resident Talita Hiratsuka, Account Leadership Resident Jess Leonard, SVP Director Business, Legal & Financial Affairs Dusty Slowik, Senior Business Affairs Manager Delores Martin, Associate Director, Financial Affairs Kelly Clow , SVP Managing Director, Open Architecture Walker Teele, VP Account Director Lindsey Netto, Account Director Steve Johnson III, Account Executive Vanessa Brown, VP Group Strategy Director Jen Lange, Senior Strategist Caroline Moyer-Kardos, VP Associate Media Director Santia Nance, Group Project Management Supervisor Danielle Cin, Senior Project Manager Ashley Covington Althizer, SVP Managing Director Cultural Impact Lab Jaclyn Ruelle, Director Cultural Impact Lab Keith Gordon, Cultural Communications Specialist Alex Angert and Cultural Impact Specialist Zena Gittens.

The team at agency Wasserman included Vice President Brent Swartz, Director (Brands) Nick Lennon, Manager (Brands) Brittany Allen and Associate Manager (Brands) Houston Greenberg.

The production company was Valiant Pictures with Founding Partner & EP Matthew D’Amato, Director & DP Danny Corey, Production Designer Nick Horton, with Composer Bryan Curt Kostors, the editorial company was Bandit with Editor Zeke O’Donnell, Executive Producer Laura Relovsky, plus Assistant Editors Steve Ortega and Chris McNinch, with Flame Przemyslaw Radlowski, Audio Post by Mr Bronx, Sound Mixer Eric Hoffman, while colour was handled by Company 3, the colourist was Sofie Borup and the producer was Alexandra Lubrano.

Comment

The third iteration of ‘Call Your Shot, follows on from last year’s viral ‘Pinch Me’ spot comparing Sue Bird’s titles, accolades and awards with Steph Curry’s and the original late 2019 series.