To leverage heightened interest around the NBA Playoffs, mid May sees new NBA sponsor Jack Daniels lobby the league for a new franchise in its home town of Lynchburg, Tennessee.
The campaign, by agency Arnold Worldwide, is the first activation in the new partnership between the NBA and the Brown-Forman owned brand: one which sees the citizen of Lynchburg request their very own NBA team.
While the town’s 572 residents know it’s “not the most exciting place in the world” they claim to have “no shortage of team spirit” and that they know a thing or two about developing a franchise.”
The campaign is spearheaded by a new 30-second TV commercial called ‘Lynchburg Lights’ and which debuted on 10 May during the Washington Wizards/Boston Celtics playoff game.
The idea is so deliberately far-fetched that even hoops Hall of Famer and current TV analyst Bill Walton exclaims “What?” in a commercial cameo.
The spot sees townsfolk show their passion for the league by building a mock-up NBA arena, creating banners welcoming the NBA to town and publishing a front-page story about the franchise in the town’s newspaper – “Lynchburg Looks To Score Big With NBA.”
Plus, in a neat reference to the brand’s famous namesake nickname, fan foam fingers say “We’re No. 7” (referencing the Jack Daniel’s ‘Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey’ sub branding.
The central spot is supported across the brand’s digital platforms and social media platforms.
Lynchburg, TN. A small town with big dreams of having their own @NBA team. pic.twitter.com/gydnafSk34
— Jack Daniel's (@JackDaniels_US) May 10, 2017
As is de rigueur with alcohol advertising – especially when it is linked to the sports space, or when young fans might even have eyeballs on the work – the campaign includes a strong ‘Drink Responsibly’ message.
(After all, any league with a core fanbase that includes kids and families knows it has to tread carefully when it comes to booze backers).
“The NBA is a perfect fit for Jack Daniel’s as we both share the same values of integrity, loyalty and community,” explains John Higgins, VP brand director for Jack Daniel’s North America.
“We couldn’t be more excited for our fans and consumers who love the great sport of basketball.”
“In Lynchburg, TN, they have some NBA fans for sure. But we’re not kidding anyone. They’re whiskey makers, first and foremost,” commented Arnold SVP and creative director Chris Valencius and VP and creative director Gregg Nelson said in a joint statement.
“And they have a history of doing things their own way. So when Jack and the NBA became partners, we decided to do the only rational thing: help them get their own NBA team. These are people who’ve never let the smallness of their community stop them from doing big things, so it just felt right.”
Activative Comment:
This funny spot continues the long-running ‘down-home’ approach and attitude of so many recent Jack Daniel’s commercials; many of which revolve around the idea that what Lynchburg lacks in size it makes up for in friendliness and dedication.
This is the first full campaign since the brand signed on as an official NBA partner.
Although Jack Daniel’s did activative around the NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans in February (see briefing report)
The all new Jack Daniel's House No. 7 begins this evening in New Orleans and just in time for #NBAAllStar 2017 pic.twitter.com/tkX51mmvyg
— Jack Daniel's (@JackDaniels_US) February 16, 2017
and announce the partnership with creative executions featuring a statue of Jasper Newton ‘Jack’ Daniel, who founded the business in the 1870s, with a basketball and copy reading “Jack Daniel stood only 5’2, but as an official NBA partner we’re feeling much taller.”
Jack Daniel stood only 5'2." But as an official @NBA partner, we are now feeling much taller. Learn more at https://t.co/rYhfsuvbsO pic.twitter.com/dyCBMy6g5f
— Jack Daniel's (@JackDaniels_US) January 26, 2017
In the near future Jack Daniel’s plans to develop NBA-themed programs at retail stores and create additional custom marketing and advertising campaigns, as well as hosting a variety of events, media and hospitality programs throughout the NBA, WNBA, NBA D-League and USA Basketball.
We aren’t away whether the NBA has officially responded to the brand’s franchise request.
Although we do know that earlier in 2017 league commission Adam Silver commented on future NBA expansion:
“While we have no immediate plans to expand the NBA, one of the things that we look at is whether expanding would be additive to the league as a whole.”
Although we feel Mexico City might be a more likely expansion team home than Lynchburg (quite what Trump might say about that we can only wonder).
“In terms of a franchise in Mexico City, it’s something that we’re going to look at,” said Silver. “This is a competitive market, well over 20 million people.”
That’s only around 19,999,428 more potential hoops fans and NBA consumers than in Lynchburg.
The creative idea itself (although not the campaign or the tone) reminds us of Amazon’s recent IPL 23017 activation which also revolved around a brand-backed fictional franchise bidding to join the league (see case study).
It was only back in January 2017 that jack Daniel’s and the NBA inked a deal that made the whisky brand an official marketing partner of not just the NBA, but also the WNBA, the NBA Development League and USA Basketball.
The financial terms of the multi-year deal were not disclosed, but the brand did claim that it was the biggest partnership with a professional sports league in Jack Daniel’s history.
The Brown-Forman booze brand also has partnerships with several NBA teams: the Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
In terms of other NBA spirits partnership, back in 2013 the league penned an alliance with Diageo led by Sean “Diddy” Combs and Diageo’s Ciroc premium vodka, while in 2010 it also signed a multi-year deal with Bacardi.
“We are thrilled to be entering into this partnership and look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with the NBA for years to come,” said brand VP Higgins when the deal was first signed.
“The NBA is a perfect fit for Jack Daniel’s as we both share the same values of integrity, loyalty and community. We couldn’t be more excited for our fans and consumers who love the great sport of basketball,” said Higgins.
Emilio Collins, EVP global partnerships at the NBA added: “We are proud to partner with Jack Daniel’s, an iconic brand with a rich history and a reputation for unique and innovative marketing. Our new partnership creates a wealth of opportunities for us to connect with new and longtime fans and celebrate our game.”
Links:
Jack Daniels
https://www.youtube.com/user/JackDaniels
https://www.instagram.com/jackdaniels_us/
https://twitter.com/JackDaniels_US
https://www.facebook.com/jackdanielsuk/?brand_redir=105868097300
NBA
http://www.instagram.com/nba
http://nba.tumblr.com
Arnold Worldwide, Boston
