The second week of March saw NCAA partner Capital One roll out the 2023 iteration of its annual ‘Road Trip To March Madness’ activation and on this year’s basketball pilgrimage the brand’s regular stars Charles Barkley, Samuel L Jackson and Spike Lee were joined by hoops legend Magic Johnson, actress (and sometime singer) Jennifer Garner, CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz and music legend Willie Nelson
The 2023 activation from the NCAA’s official finance partner again takes a comic approach to its Final Four road trip that includes some slapstick court-side heckling, a Barkley-themed convenience store and a sing-along to a hoops-themed reworking of Nelson’s classic ‘On the Road Again’.
The campaign, created with agency GSD&M, spans TV, OLV, social and on-site activations at the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Division One College Basketball Tournament which start from 14 March.
The campaign is spearheaded by a set of five comic commercials all set en-route to the tournament’s Final Four climax. Rolling out from 9 March, the spots come in both 30- and 15-second cuts.
A further music-themed strand of the activation is a TikTok challenge offering participating fans the chance to duet with Nelson and Garner which will be hosted on the actress’ personal channel
While an additional activation programme element sees cardholders get access to a series of experiences and events at both the men’s and women’s Final Four tournaments on Capital One Entertainment.
Most of the creative assets seek to drive viewers online to ‘see how Capital One can help with your banking and financial needs’
“Adding Willie was great because the other celebrity talent on set were all just as excited as we were to be working with such a legend,” says GSD&M SVP, group CD Scott Brewer. “As an agency based in Austin, Texas, we couldn’t be prouder to have brought him into this collaboration. The fact that we got to shoot with Willie on his actual tour bus only made for a more authentic and entertaining spot.”
The campaign was created for client Capital One by a multi-disciplinary team at agency GSD&M which included Jay Russell (Chief Creative Officer), Scott Brewer (SVP, Group Creative Director), Ryan Carroll (SVP, Group Creative Director), Kristi Flango (Creative Director), Sarah Weigl (Creative Director), Brett Baker (Creative Director), Justin Han (Associate Creative Director & Writer), Ryan Warner (Associate Creative Director & Art Director), Kendal Steffen (Senior Art Director), Clare Davis (Senior Writer), Jon Ellis (Executive Producer), Rolando Romero (Producer), Nancy Ryan (SVP, Managing Director), Lindsey Kuhn (Account Director), Kackie Hensen (Account Supervisor), Jenny Terway (Account Manager), Lindsay Wakabayashi (Director, Business Affairs), Georgette Bivins (Senior Business Affairs Manager), Kim Tarter (Associate Business Affairs Manager), Adam Gill (Project Manager), Tyson Maley (Project Manager), Jim Firestone (SVP, Group Strategy Director, Chelsea Vargas (Strategy Director), Randy Romero (Social Media Director) and Sammy Rippon (Senior Social Strategist).
The production company was Pony Show Entertainment with Director: Spike Lee, while editorial was handled by MackCut and VFX by Framestore.
Comment
For US college hoops fans and ad watchers, Capital One’s repeat campaign is ‘Always On My Mind’ at this time of year and 2023’s iteration doesn’t change the formula or disappoint.
The 2023 activation follows on from previous iterations of Capital One’s March Madness activation platform which have included 2022’s Big Heads, 2021’s 7-spot campaign all the way back to 2016’s ‘Road Trip To The Final Four’.
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