Nike's Gripping NBA Ad Portrays the Ups and Downs of a Young Basketball Champ
F. Gary Gray Directs Pacy Spot About a Young Boy's Dreams
Editor's Pick
Nike vividly portrays the career of an ambitious young basketball player, with all its ups and downs, in its ad for the new NBA season.
Directed by F Gary Gray ("Straight Outta Compton") for Wieden + Kennedy Portland, the spot opens on a young boy named Donte Grand holding a basketball on a street corner and envisioning his future as he stares at a neighborhood basketball court. We then zoom in to visualize his dreams, flashing through deftly-edited scenes: success on the local court, dribbling in his room while watching LeBron, playing for Duke, signing for the Cleveland Cavaliers and getting the better of Kevin Durant as he passes to LeBron. There are downs as well as ups: at one point, he sits watching footage of critical commentary about his performance, but that only makes him all the more determined. At the end we zoom backwards to the confident young Dante, followed by the tagline "Want It All."
Fast-paced and gripping, it has energy of a classic Nike spot, with the choice of music--Public Enemy's "Shut It Down"--particularly effective.
The spot broke during the NBA season opener between the Boston Celtics and the Cavaliers-which, appropriately, the Cavaliers won.
The spot marks Nike's first year as the official on-court uniform provider for the NBA. Earlier this year, the brand unveiled its NikeConnect tech that lets fans access custom and exclusive sports content through their clothing.
Credits
- Date
- Oct 18, 2017
- Brand :
- Nike
- Client :
- Nike
- Agency :
- Wieden & Kennedy-Portland
- Creative Director :
- Alberto Ponte
- Creative Director :
- Ryan O'Rourke
- Copywriter :
- Josh Bodgan
- Art Director :
- Pedro Izique
- Integrated Production Director :
- Matt Hunnicutt
- Integrated Production Director :
- Krystle Mortimore
- Senior Integrated Producer :
- Jake Grand
- Production Assistant :
- Candice Harbour
- Production Assistant :
- Shani Storey
- Account Director :
- Chris Willingham
- Account Supervisor :
- Erik Wade
- Account Executive :
- Tobin Kittoe
- Account Executive :
- Chuck Xu
- Business Affairs Manager :
- Dusty Slowik
- Lead Business Affairs Manager :
- Laura Caldwell
- Designer :
- Deb Lee
- Creative Manager :
- Emily Norman
- Brand Strategy :
- Nathan Goldberg
- Brand Strategist :
- Reid Schilperoort
- Associate Communications Planning Director :
- John Furnari
- Digital Media Supervisor :
- Emily Graham
- Associate Comms Planner :
- Anthony Holton
- Traffic Supervisor :
- Tim Bell
- Traffic Manager :
- Maggie Harasyn
- Production Company :
- Radical Media
- Production Company :
- Fenix Studios
- Director :
- F. Gary Gray
- Executive Producer :
- Donna Portaro
- Line Producer :
- Barbara Benson
- Director, Photography :
- Roman Vasyanov
- Editorial Company :
- Rock Paper Scissors
- Managing Director :
- Linda Carlson
- Executive Producer :
- Raná Martin
- Editor :
- Angus Wall
- Assistant Editor :
- Lauren Dellara
- Producer :
- Sasha Grubor
- Visual Effects Company :
- The Mill
- Executive Producer :
- Anastasia Von Rahl
- Producer :
- Karina Slater
- Production Coordinator :
- Jake Fritz
- Shoot Supervisor :
- John Shirley
- Creative Director :
- Robert Sethi
- Creative Director :
- John Shirley
- 2D Lead Artist :
- John Shirley
- 3D Lead Artist :
- Chris Bayol
- Crowd Lead Artist :
- Dan Warom
- 2D Artist :
- Ben Smith
- 2D Artist :
- Chris Knight
- 2D Artist :
- Dag Ivarsoy
- 2D Artist :
- Daniel Lang
- 2D Artist :
- Daniel Thuresson
- 2D Artist :
- Greg VanZyl
- 2D Artist :
- James Allen
- 2D Artist :
- Jeff Langlois
- 2D Artist :
- Lisa Ryan
- 2D Artist :
- Peter Sidoriak
- 2D Artist :
- Remedy Huynh
- 2D Artist :
- Sam Evenson
- 2D Artist :
- Timothy Crabtree
- 2D Artist :
- Tom Van Dop
- 2D Artist :
- Chris Hunsberger
- 2D Artist :
- Robin McGloin
- 2D Artist :
- Sven Dreesbach
- 3D Artist :
- Eugene Gauran
- 3D Artist :
- Freddy Parra
- 3D Artist :
- Juan Salazar
- 3D Artist :
- Matt Bohnert
- 3D Artist :
- Matthew Fuller
- 3D Artist :
- Monique Espinoza
- 3D Artist :
- Samantha Pedregon
- 3D Artist :
- Sharlene Lin
- 3D Artist :
- Shaun Comly
- 3D Artist :
- Sophie Pince
- 3D Artist :
- Tom Graham
- 3D Artist :
- Ziming Liu
- 3D Artist :
- Anthony Thomas
- 3D Artist :
- Rie Ito
- Tracking :
- Michael Lori
- Tracking :
- Danny Garcia
- Tracking :
- Chase Webb
- Tracking :
- Katie Yancey
- Tracking :
- Jason Jansky
- Tracking :
- Alice Panek
- Tracking :
- Steven Olson
- Tracking :
- Michael Archambault
- Matte Painting :
- Gillian George
- Design :
- James Vogel
- Music Company :
- Human Worldwide
- Arranger :
- Gareth Williams
- Creative Lead :
- Craig Deleon
- Producer :
- Kamela Anderson
- Song :
- "Shut Em Up"
- Sound Company :
- Lime Studios
- Sound Designer :
- Michael Anastasi
- Sound Designer :
- Zac Fisher
- Audio Assistant :
- Kevin McAlpine
- Executive Producer :
- Susie Boyajan
- Mix Company :
- Lime Studios
- Mixer :
- Zac Fisher
- Executive Producer :
- Susie Boyajan
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