Maya Moore, arguable the biggest star of the WNBA, fronts a new Jordan Brand hoops campaign that blends TV and OOH inspired by iconic 1989 poster
The Lynx star Moore recreates Michael Jordan’s classic ‘Wings’ poster from 1989: an image that adorned hundreds of thousands of basketball fan bedrooms through the ’80s and ’90s.
The fresh, female focused hoops campaign updates the imagery for a new era with both a TV ad and outdoor executions.
Initially teased socially ahead of the launch,
Ready to soar.
4-time WNBA Finals Champion, @MooreMaya, is poised to build onto her legacy. pic.twitter.com/aSgfm5rjAB
— Jordan (@Jumpman23) May 18, 2018
the spearhead 60-second spot is shot in black and white and directed by Nabil via Reset.
It features Moore recreating Jordan’s famous Christ-like pose, whilst she revisits and reviews some of her career highlights – including childhood footage the creative team obtained from her mother.
The spot, created by Wieden + Kennedy New York, is set to Nina Simone’s famous ‘Feeling Good’ track which has been re-recorded by Amber Mark.
Plus, in the last few seconds of the video, Michael Jordan himself narrates a reworking the tweaked William Blake quote that appeared on his original poster: “No bird soars too high if she soars with her own wings”.
The spot debuted on air during the WNBA opening game on 20 May when not only were all teams in action, but also when Moore received her fourth WNBA Title Ring along with her champion team the Minnesota Lynx.
To support the spot, a giant OOH poster featuring Moore was unveiled at sites in New York, LA and outside of the newly renovated Target Center home arena of the Minnesota Lynx.
I wanna be wanna be wanna be like Maya.
Get your 'WINGS' poster on June 1, courtesy of @Jumpman23 » https://t.co/PoMjj5VHMN pic.twitter.com/sjpE9oUirH
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) May 24, 2018
The content was amplified across the brand and the player’s social channels.
Oh, how far we’ve come! So excited to share this with the world & soar higher with my Jordan Brand Family https://t.co/CmPHsPgfEP
— Maya Moore (@MooreMaya) May 23, 2018
What a beauty from @nikebasketball featuring @MooreMaya #chills https://t.co/lvvtrbDwNm
— Megan Myers (@dovejoint) May 24, 2018
The campaign not only promotes the start of the new WNBA season, but also the launch of the new Women’s #AirJordan XI Low ‘Rook to Queen’.
status.
The Women's #AirJordan XI Low 'Rook to Queen' drops tomorrow: https://t.co/PKAQ7NDKHP. pic.twitter.com/Sct0rtivxj
— Jordan (@Jumpman23) May 23, 2018
Comment:
We all want to be like Mike right?
Less than half of the Activative team can remember the original image (well, it is 33 years ago),
Maya Moore recreated Michael Jordan’s ‘wings’ pose, and it’s everything https://t.co/pwTtPUwjXc via @sbnation
— WomensBasketball247 (@womensbball247) May 21, 2018
but in an age of female empowerment, this seems like a smart move for the brand to all of us.
It also dovetails neatly with the WNBA’s own league-wide, ‘Take A Seat, Take A Stand’ cause campaign for the new 2018/19 season (see case study).
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/
