Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal ad by Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE
The NBA Playoffs are almost here and once again, the league has an ambitious marketing plan to make sure you know how important the next two months are. The series of 20-plus commercials, running throughout the playoffs, expand on this season’s “Where Amazing Happens” advertising theme and share the tag "There Can Only Be One." They feature split-screens of star players from opposing teams talking in unison about what the playoffs mean to them. The first two, already airing, pair Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and his old pal Shaquille O'Neal, now with the Suns, and LeBron James of the Cavaliers and Kevin Garnett of the Celtics. On Sunday a third spot, with Chris Paul (Hornets) and Dwight Howard (Magic), premieres. “We’re gonna win, yeah” they say simultaneously. “That’s not me bragging. That’s me believing. That’s me believing in myself and my teammates. And trust me, you ask anyone who’s ever won a ring, anyone who’s ever been a champion, they believe, too. We’re not here to lose.
Once the playoffs begin, the commercials will be tailored to specific match-ups. They are directed by the Oscar-nominated husband and wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine). They worked with ad agency Goodby Silverstein and Partners to film dozens of players — including Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Tracy McGrady — for 130 possible combinations. For the first time, all of the NBA's TV partners (ABC/ESPN and TNT) are running the same campaign.
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