'Jurassic World' meets ESPN 'SportsCenter' in promo for 'Dominion'

Recently, an ad that appeared on Instagram suggested the return of ESPN’s classic “This Is SportsCenter” campaign created by Wieden+Kennedy New York. The effort famously depicted athletic greats hanging out in the office with broadcasters and the odd mascot in hilariously mundane scenarios. In this new ad, we see ESPN commentator and NBA vet Richard Jefferson strolling through the sports network’s halls with Toronto Raptors player Scottie Barnes, who wonders out loud, “What’s up with all the dinosaurs in the office?” “You know, I can hear you rookie!” pipes an annoyed voice from behind the wall of a cubicle, and it turns out to be that of Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who just turned 75 years old last week. Jefferson steps in: “Yo, bro, you can’t talk about Kareem like that! He’s one of the greatest of all time. Show some respect!” Turns out, however, that Barnes was actually talking about a real dinosaur—and we then see a velociraptor leaping about. Jeff Goldblum then steps in from around the corner. “Yeah, uh, nobody believed me either,” he says, revealing that the ad isn’t for Sportscenter after all. Rather, it’s a promo for the latest in the “Jurassic World” franchise, “Dominion,” from Universal Pictures, coming to theaters on June 10. Goldblum played Dr. Ian Malcolm in the original "Jurassic Park" film, and "Dominion" will mark his return to the series, alongside fellow "Jurassic Park" stars Laura Dern and Sam Neill. Abdul-Jabbar shared the ad on Instagram to mark his big birthday on April 16. Ad Age reached out to Universal Pictures and ESPN for details about the spot’s creation, but we have yet to hear back.

'Jurassic World' meets ESPN 'SportsCenter' in promo for 'Dominion'

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