US sports broadcaster and NBA media partner ESPN promoted its coverage of the upcoming 2022/3 basketball season with a 30-second TV commercial called ‘It’s A Beautiful Time For Basketball’ which introduced a new global creative brand identity for the NBA for its NBA coverage across all screens and platforms.
Launched as the 2022/3 NBA preseason schedule tipped off, the refreshed professional hoops content identity was developed by ESPN Creative Studio (with FutureDeluxe and 2Fresh) and the linked campaign by agency Arts & Letters and it aimed to showcase an artfully crafted, forward-thinking animation in terms of its creative and editorial look and sound: which included iridescent chrome brushstrokes painted across the design campaign and slick animations.
The branding will be brought to life by ESPN throughout the season with innovative augmented reality enhancements across the media company’s primetime and playoff programming (climaxing with its ABC’s coverage of the NBA Finals in 2023).
The new brand identity spans ESPN’s NBA, WNBA and G-League coverage: marking the first time that the collection of NBA brands had a cohesive look across all the media company’s properties.
The WNBA and NBA logos animate on-screen with signature crossover dribbles and no-look passes, inspired by the view of sitting courtside and the motion of the game, while a basketball-centric spherical theme is central to the new identity.
ESPN also partnered with Made Music Studios to create a new ESPN on NBA sound: the first time ESPN has changed the theme music for the NBA since 2004. The sound is accompanied by NBA Countdown leading into games, plus the games themselves on ESPN and ABC, and the company is working on some new music for NBA Today.
The lead spot sees NBA legends (such as Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant) share screen time with current super stars (including LeBron James and Steph Curry) in a fantastical spot focusing on vivid dreamscapes created through Epic Games’ Unreal Engine with archive footage blending with surreal 3-D animation driving a narrative that fuses the virtual and the real game.
Developed by agency Arts & Letters with production house Psyop, the hero ad debuted during ESPN’s Monday Night Football on 3 October and rolled out across the Disney-owned media company’s own TV and online channels ahead of the NBA season tip-off on 18 October.
The players appearing in the commercial include: Ja Morant, LeBron James, Devin Booker, Steph Curry, Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Two further spots are ready to roll out on ESPN ahead of the start of the NBA’s 76th season.
“It’s to unlock the firepower of the creative, and that played into setting the strategy,” Carrie Brzezinski-Hsu, VP of ESPN Creative Studio. “The biggest thing that we asked ourselves this year is that we know that fans in general, and the younger fans particularly, want a more immersive experience. They want to feel part of it and inside of it, so that was our North Star. How do we bring fans into the action and feel like they’re sitting courtside? The creative treatment was inspired by that, and by bringing a lot of energetic motion into the game. We want this to feel like a universe. Whether it’s a 60-inch TV screen or a 6-inch phone screen, we have to make this identity feel consistent and fun no matter where you’re watching it. We did not want to land on safe solutions that we typically see or get back when we pitch for sports.”
“We want to celebrate the veterans and rookies that make up the NBA today while appreciating the time of greatness in which we find ourselves,” outlined A&L Creative Director Andrew Kong. “Using footage of legends like Bird, Jordan and Kobe felt like a great way to honour their contributions and compare the game today with the beauty of years’ past.”
“Once we picked the players, we built a custom dreamscape around each one, and peppered in Easter eggs that nod to each player’s story and team,” added agency ACD Brett Simone. “For example, Curry isn’t playing in a Yes album cover, but a stylized version of San Francisco. (The Golden Gate Bridge is right there! Squint, people!).”
“We want this work to excite all types of NBA fans by celebrating a rare time in league history—one sparked with new debates, new star power and new stories,” continued A&L Strategist Millie Tunnell. “We wanted to embrace this pivotal moment of change and bring our storytelling to life in a new way, with visually and emotionally, that matches what the league and the fans are experiencing.”
The campaign was briefed in by a client team at ESPN which included EVP of Commercial Marketing Networks Laura Gentile, VP of Sports Marketing Emeka Ofodile,
Director of Sports Marketing Lucas Ferraro, Associate Director of Sports Marketing Jason Ritchkoff, Associate Manager of Sports Marketing Maximo Reyes and Marketing Coordinator of Sports Marketing Mohammed Ahmed.
The work was conceived and created by a group at agency Arts & Letters Creative Co led by ECD Charles Hodges, Director of Strategy Andy Grayson, Strategy Director Alex Morrison, Strategist Millie Tunnell, Group Business Director Brenda Schneider, Business Director Hill Shore, Head of Production Temma Shoaf, Executive Producer Calleen Colburn, Senior Producer Andrea Rodriguez, Assistant Producer Austin Butler, Creative Directors NJ Placentra, Andrew Kong and Molly Jamison, Creatives Brett Simone, Lillian O’Connor and Steve Gonzalez, Music Supervisor Cam DiNunzio and Business Affairs Manager Jennifer Kmetzsch.
The production company was Psyop with Directors Loren Christiansen and Shane Griffin, plus Executive Producer Joe Maggiore, Producers Cameron Lewis and Rory Hamilton-Battenfeld, Associate Producer Tapy Noun, Editor Loren Christiansen, CG Supervisor Pakorn Bupphavesa, Art Director Clint Chang, Designers Tae Kim, Paul Cayrol and Caroline Goehner, Compositors Tingting Li, Galo Gutierrez, Bruno De La Calva, Carl Mok and Christopher Brown, VFX Operative Nicolas Donatelli, Unreal Artists Pablo Cardenas, Frank Lee and David Pressler and Matte Painter Andrew Park, plus Company 3 Colorist Kath Raisch and Producer Jake Rioux.
The music studio was Consortium, the lead track was ‘On and On and On’ with Composer Seth Olinsky, Music Post Producer Maggie Flatley, Music Editor Justin Miller and VO Talent Nana Dadzie. Audio facilities were handled by Barking Owl Sound with Overcoast Music & Sound.
Comment
This is something of a change of pace for the sports cable network and plugs in to the world of video games, the league’s history, its stars and cultural status in a similar fashion to other recent campaigns from the NBA and its partners such as ‘NBA Lane’, NBA ‘That’s Game’ and Hennessey’s ‘Game Never Stops’.
This media partner basketball creative refresh rolled out as the WNBA closed out its 26th season: its most-viewed season in 16 years with a 22% rise on Disney’s networks in 2022.
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.