A meandering continuum

Of Kobe, LeBron, Willie Tyler and Lester, $20 Chinese food, and the great Circle of Life in sports and marketing.

Let’s start in the present.

Apparently, Nike is assuming that the Laker and the Cavs are going to meet in the NBA finals. At least that was their best guess when they made this spot, which had to have been produced before the playoffs began (and before the Rockets took LA to tomorrow’s Game 7).



I am highly amused by this premise: LeBron and Kobe are roommates. Kobe is the Rat Pack-like elder statesman, wearing shades and sweater right out of Ocean’s 11 (the original). LeBron is the kid playing video games with the hip hop styling. Love the puppet representations, love the apartment in which they live. This all makes sense, because Kobe has won three titles over a long career and LeBron is still looking for his first.

Fun stuff.

I also love the voices. It was amazing to see how many people beefed about not getting the real voices, including Darren Rovell’s SportsBiz blog. I say it’s much funnier with the actors who do the VO—I’m sure the scripts were great but you can hear the improvisation. Plus, puppet mouths don’t match real words, so they can say just about anything they want. Rumor has it David Allan Grier and Kenan Thompson were Kobe and LeBron, but that’s not confirmed.

But I digress.

Watching this ad, I was immediately reminded of the great Lil Penny ads Nike did at the height of Anfernee (Penny) Hardaway’s fame in the mid-‘90’s.



Yes, that’s Chris Rock as Lil Penny. And yes, he is very very funny. Too bad Big Penny’s knees crapped out on him. He could’ve been one of the greats. His ads were great and part of it was due to his understated comedic performance. Not easy being straight man to a puppet.

Unless you’re Willie Tyler and you’ve got Lester on your lap.



But again, I digress.

Penny Hardaway was a terrific basketball player. All-Star games, NBA Finals alongside Shaq for the Magic, Olympic Gold Medal…if he could have avoided injury, he could’ve been a legend…much like, say, LeBron.

Too much of a stretch? Maybe. But at a time when Michael was playing baseball and just returning to basketball, Penny filled a superstar void.

In addition to his basketball skills, he was good in front of the camera, as evidenced by the Lil Penny ads. Who knows how high his star could have risen? In fact, he could’ve been making commercials like this.



One of my favorite spots of the past several years. The music, the magic, the hero and the real people, all coming together. LeBron’s signature, iconic move. It’ll go down as an all-time Nike classic. It’s already spawned dozens of Youtube parodies. And enabled Nike to parody itself.



Ah, so we’re full circle on our meandering continuum. I like this spot even better than the “Three Rings” spot above (although it did seem like it could have been a :30 or at most a :45). What the hell does “$20 Chinese food!” mean? I don’t know, but it’s funny.

So there you have it. Proof that everything that goes around comes around. And if nothing else, you found out that Willie Tyler and Lester are still ventriloquizing, online! Who knew?

When does LeBron play basketball?

Nike, NBA, State Farm, Vitaminwater, Bubblicious., Tampax…what’s this guy not pitching these days? It’s hard to turn on the TV without seeing him in an ad. He was the top non-golf endorser a year ago and he’s only turned it up since then.

The problem isn’t in the way it’s affected his performance on the court. The Cavs are a game behind the Celtics in the East, and Lebron is second in scoring in the league behind D-Wade. So he must be getting some practice in somewhere.

The problem isn’t in sponsors’ ability to do very good ads with the King. You’ve seen the NBA ads. You’ve seen the Nike ads. And you’ve probably seen this new State Farm ad.



Fun. Some terrific moments (I especially like him rejecting the field goal). But I’m not so sure about the wrap-up and how it works for State Farm. What exactly are they selling? The NFL? State farm? Sundays?

Therein lies the problem: I’m not sure he’s figured out how to develop and nurture his value for each specific brand he endorses.

Or his ability to effectively deliver a message that helps to sell and promote each specific brand.

Sounds too marketing-ese and over-analytical? Should we just watch an ad and if we enjoy it be happy with it?

Not so fast. I’d argue that you swapped out the Nike logo for the State Farm logo for the NBA logo in those ads above, the ads would still work. None of those brands has developed an insight about Lebron and connected it to the brand to make it completely ownable. I’m not the only one who thinks so.

So maybe it’s not that he’s being overused; it’s in the way he’s being used. Wonderful ads, to be sure, but better insights would create better value.

LeBron, you funny!

Ha!



Who woulda thunk it? Beast on the court, humorous soft touch off it. That really is amazing.

On the surface, I’m with a lot of fans who love this spot. It shows a side of LeBron that we don’t normally get to see. It’s surprising. And funny.

So on it’s own, it scores. But it’s a continuation of the NBA’s “Amazing Happens” campaign, and needs to be evaluated in that context as well. Here’s one of the spots from last year:



Very different. Very, wonderfully amazing. Makes me interested in the NBA. Makes me want to watch more NBA action.

And more than anything else, it makes me feel that NBA players are uniquely interesting and pretty spectacular and just kind of cooler than those other somewhat inferior professional athletes.

I’m drawn to their personalities in an unexpected way. That’s a pretty hard-working ad.

So when LeBron sings Time After Time, I’m loving it and I like him a whole lot.

But it doesn’t make the NBA feel all that amazing.

The first "Year Of..." of 2009

So far, 2009 is the year of the teaser ad in sports. First, G. Now, this:



The rumors are flying: LeBron is leaving to play basketball; Lebron is going to the Knicks/Lakers/Maccabi Tel Aviv Electra; LeBron is co-starring with Hugh Hefner in a reality show called "The Girls Next Door to Lebron..."

I like it. It gives me just enough information to care and wonder, and not enough to give anything away. Hail Nike.

It is Nike, isn't it...?

Why Nike is like the stock market

Many joyous ups, some surprisingly horrific downs, but over time, trustworthy.

The new ad featuring the King is wonderfully sublime. Terrific music with an addictive hook. Cool cameos by a cool star (Li'l Wayne). Great faces. Authentic sports. Transcendent superstar. Makes you smile. Classic Nike.



Thanks, W&K, for reminding us that Nike really is the King.

And just for fun, another Nike ad by the same name.



Also a smilemaker. Thanks, Youtube.