Rock the boat, just don’t capsize

“There are over 400,000 NCAA athletes. And just about all of us will be going pro in something other than sports.”

How many years have ads for the NCAA been using these words in their ads? The same words, mind you, but always with different stories wrapping themselves around that interesting thought.

In contrast to the many many brands that come up with a smart idea and move away from it way too soon because a fiesty young creative gets bored with it, the NCAA is sticking to this very smart platform and keeps coming up with interesting ways to craft stories around it. Like this.



This new work is some of the most surprising they’ve done, a tribute to whoever’s the guardian of the brand at the NCAA, and to Y&R in San Francisco, who produced these ads. Same copy they’ve been using for years, and in this case, a strikingly arresting (and different) visual story.



Stick with it, all of you guys doing these ads. You’re proving that you can keep your hand on the tiller, not make any sharp turns, and still stay in uncharted waters that deliver surprising adventures. Well done.