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

Published On
Oct 18, 2017

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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