State Farm is "benching its three-year-old ‘Born to Assist’ campaign in favor of a new series” that debuted Christmas Day, according to Adrianne Pasquarelli of AD AGE. The auto insurer is launching "The Hoopers," which features Clippers G Chris Paul and C DeAndre Jordan as the "dad and mom of a sitcom family living next door to a State Farm agent.” The agent “helps the family deal with cooking disasters, car mishaps and, of course, falling basketball hoops.” The new campaign follows "Born to Assist," where Cliff, a twin of Paul's, worked as a State Farm agent. State Farm has been a sponsor of the NBA since ‘10, and next year will be Paul’s fourth as a company spokesperson. State Farm Marketing Dir of Brand Content Patty Morris said, “We felt like it was time to freshen the campaign a little bit. Cliff’s been great for us, but he’s going to take a little break.” Pasquarelli noted Cavaliers F Kevin Love, T'Wolves F Kevin Garnett and Trail Blazers G Damian Lillard also are featured in the effort, which was created by Translation (ADAGE.com, 12/25).
GOING VERTICAL: Meanwhile, State Farm has become a launch sponsor for the new Adrian Wojnarowski-led NBA "Vertical" website on Yahoo Sports (TWITTER.com, 12/25).
