Long-time Capital One NCAA March Madness celebrity endorsers Spike Lee, Charles Barkley and Samuel L Jackson again front the finance brand’s tournament activation in 2021 starring in a seven-strong series of road trip ads running across national television as well as digital and social channels.
The spots see the group head for Indianapolis for the NCAA men’s basketball division one tournament and the usual group of pitchmen are joined this year by NBA legends Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, as well as by sportscaster Jim Nantz and soul singer Gladys Knight.
The campaign, which was developed for Capital One by lead agency GSD&M and predecessor DDB, is filled with the brand’s usual visual and verbal puns.
The commercial featuring the soul diva sees Lee, Barkley and Jackson act as Knight’s backing singers (or ‘Pips’), plus the music theme continues with a Jackson Five tribute spot.
In the end, the group mistakenly arrive in Annapolis, 615 miles away from the tournament in Indianapolis, due to phonic humor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFl-uHRUzx0
The activation campaign also includes a sponsored ‘GOAT Bracket’ strand.
“We know we aren’t the only ones excited to have March Madness games back in action this season,” says Capital One Chief Brand Officer Marc Mentry. “As official sponsors for the past 10 years, this one feels extra special.”
“Sam, Spike and Chuck are legends in their own right and certainly don’t need anyone else to make these commercials great,” explained GSD&M Senior Vice President and Managing Director Nancy Ryan. “But something special does happen when you drop an outsider into their world. It keeps it fun for them, but also sets this expectation with the audience of ‘What is Capital One going to do next?’ So, just when you think it’s going to be another funny March Madness commercial, boom! Magic Johnson literally pops up, or a longform musical number with Gladys Knight.”
“We think there is a lot of fun to be had with the Barkleylounger,” said agency SVP Group Creative Director Ryan Carroll. “Who’s to say this chair can’t live on and make its way to the stadium once fans can start attending tournament games again?”
“Midnight Train” – DDB and GSD&M jointly created ‘Midnight Train;, GSD&M created ‘It’s Like Magic’, ‘First Time’ and ‘Barkleylounger, while DDB created ‘Bird Watching’, ‘Every Time’ and ‘In the Annapolis.
Comment:
Last year, as live sports in the US were paused due to Covid, the NCAA tournament was cancelled and Capital One was forced to bench its well-known and much loved March Madness commercials which have featured Barkley, Jackson and Lee since 2015.
With no less than seven spot in 2021, it is as if the brand’s marketing team is trying to make up for the missed year in ad volume. But the reality is that the banking brand had already shot footage for 2020 (including Knight and the trio’s ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ where the tournament was due to be held in 2020.
So, rather than waste it, for 2021 the marketing team repurposed the footage as a dream sequence.
Indeed, the 2021 work seems bigger and sillier than ever and the brand, like people across the world, will hope that the tournament going ahead is another small signal of a speedy return to normal after the pandemic.
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