Following this success, Henault continued to ship the trophy to high-traffic locations and glitterati meetups every season.
2. ‘Playoff Mode. It’s a Factor,’ (2024)
“Playoff Mode. It’s a Thing.” narrated by comic Chris Rock landed in April 2024 to advertise the NBA Playoffs.
The hero spot confirmed NBA gamers attempt to play it cool about going to the playoffs—although they’re an enormous deal. All-stars reminiscent of Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson, Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and Nikola Jokic featured within the marketing campaign.
The inventive performed on the concept the “playoffs unlock an elevated model of all of us, from passionate followers to the unmatched rivals throughout the league,” Henault mentioned on the time.
The work, once more from Translation, launched alongside the NBA’s first sonic model id, which mashed up snippets of balls bouncing on courts, sneakers squeaking on hardwood, roaring crowds, and swishing nets.
This marketing campaign was swiftly adopted just a few weeks later by “The Toast,” which featured former professional basketballer Dwyane Wade because the grasp of ceremonies in a glamorous, mood-lit speakeasy, elevating a glass of bubbly to “the season that was and the champion to be.”
Queen Latifah additionally took a starring position, alongside NBA legends Johnson, Isiah Thomas, and Ray Allen; ESPN commentator Mike Breen; and Girls’s Nationwide Basketball Affiliation stars Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky. Kimmel featured as soon as extra, with debuts from fellow comic and actor Ken Jeong and legend Magic Johnson.
3. ‘The Heist and The Heist II’ (2023 and 2024)
In 2023, to hype its inaugural In-Season Match, Translation and the NBA premiered “Heist,” a stylized homage to Ocean’s Eleven with basketball superstars enjoying key roles in a swagger-filled crime-lite caper.
