Names & Faces: James Harden Potentially Trolls Stephen Curry In New Adidas Spot
FASTCOCREATE.com's Jeff Beer noted a new adidas ad featuring Rockets G James Harden asks "whether you'd rather see him play a boring and predictable game or not." Harden then "addresses some of the most vocal criticisms of his game and the notion of playing it safe in a fun way." But perhaps most notable is the "expert troll job at the 44-second mark, in which we see an eerily familiar shot that bears a more than striking resemblance" to last year's Stephen Curry "Rule Yourself" Under Armour ad (FASTCOCREATE.com, 11/17).
MARKETING MAGNET: Clorox Chair & CEO Benno Dorer at the company's annual meeting at its Oakland HQ "didn't tell shareholders how much the company's paying Curry to be Brita's new 'brand ambassador.'" But Clorox Exec VP & COO Nick Vlahos was "eager to show off the Brita TV commercial featuring Curry as well as a clip from the 'Ellen DeGeneres Show'" with Curry and First Lady Michelle Obama "talking up the benefits of water and Brita" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/16).
LAYER OF THICKNESS: ADWEEK's David Gianatasio noted Dollar Beard Club on Thursday released a commercial "that's thick with hirsute celebrity endorsers," the "most famous" of which is Seahawks CB Richard Sherman. The spot "jokingly aims to dispel various 'myths' about beards." The Beard Club ads "began as unrepentant parodies of Dollar Shave Club commercials" (ADWEEK.com, 11/17).
BIG MAN STRATEGY: In Philadelphia, Tommy Rowan noted 76ers C Joel Embiid is "giving 'The Process' a whole new meaning," as he is "attempting to trademark the name as part of a larger marketing strategy to sell pre-bottled Shirley Temples and other products, according to two applications filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office." The name "could be applied to several different lines of merchandise, including apparel, rubber bracelets, flip flops" and children’s books (PHILLY.com, 11/17).
