Jordan brand celebrated its very own athlete endorser Russell Westbrook winning the NBA’s 2017 Most Valuable Player Award with an animated film called ‘Why Not 0?’
The cartoon creative’s title refers to Westbook’s well-known ‘0’ jersey number and the campaign itself is something of a mathematical musical ode.
The Nike-owned brand bought the first commercial slot following the telecast of the annual NBA Awards which culminated with the Oaklahama City Thunder star being named MVP for the first time in his career.
The message in this vibrant, animated commercial – developed with agency Wieden & Kennedy New York, with animation by Titmouse and music from Phonte of Little Brother and Foreign Exchange – is that the star’s ‘0’ jersey number is the only statistic that counts when it comes to the honour of winning the MVP award.
This season saw the point guard obliterate previous NBA records by scoring a record 42 triple-doubles.
As well as running on TV right after the awards show, the spot debuted on the brand’s YouTube channel on 26 June
and is being amplified across the brand’s Twitter feed,
M+V+P=0️⃣. #WhyNot pic.twitter.com/DvJyJbVfo0
— Jordan (@Jumpman23) June 27, 2017
Instagram,
and Facebook pages,
and it also fronts the core Nike website (https://www.nike.com/au/en_gb/c/jordan?ref=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.youtube.com%252F).
The campaign also includes supporting work linking to the ad’s track on Spotify,
Standing 0️⃣vation. Listen to ‘Why Not Zero?’
Spotify: https://t.co/GAXqR3GiZP
Apple Music: https://t.co/MgA4tDGIrp— Jordan (@Jumpman23) June 27, 2017
while the MVP celebratory campaign was swiftly followed by creative promoting the brand’s new Jumpman 23 and Converse pack.
Alumni association.
Jordan x Converse 'The 2 That Started It All' Pack drops tomorrow. https://t.co/BmOKKeO5uX
— Jordan (@Jumpman23) June 27, 2017
Activative Comment:
The new ‘Why Not 0’ ad generated 2.2 million views on the brand’s Facebook page and a further 50,000 views on YouTube.
According to the agency, it was inspired by the animated series ‘Black Dynamite’ (based on the 2009 Blaxploitation film of the same name)
The campaign follows hot on the heels of a previous ‘Why Not’ Westbrook led Jordan brand campaign back in April which paid tribute to his breaking the NBA’s Triple-Double record.
Created by agency R/GA, this campaign was broadcast on Tv after the record breaking game and was scored by Stevie Wonder.
The campaign celebrated Westbrook’s achievement with an appearance by the previous record-holder and former Milwaukee Bucks point guard and Hall of Famer Oscar ‘The Big O’ Robertson.
The creative mixes recent game highlights and archival footage of Robertson in action with hints of behind-the-scenes shots and meme action.
The great Michael Jordan himself penned the campaign’s press release calling it “one of the greatest individual seasons in NBA history.”
“The spirit he plays with can control the energy of an entire game,” said Michael Jordan.
“He’s willing to take advantage of every opportunity to help his team win.”
The work, which doubles as a promotion for the new Air Jordan XXXI model, and it also includes interactive elements such as emojis and iMessage stickers.
Links:
Jordan Brand
https://www.youtube.com/user/jumpman23
https://www.instagram.com/jumpman23/
https://www.facebook.com/jumpman23
Wieden & Kennedy New York
http://www.wk.com/office/newyork/
R/GA
