Gummy candy brand Trolli and Periscope, Minneapolis, have created "Beardsketball," which "lets fans shoot hoops into a net that looks strikingly like" Rockets G James Harden's beard, according to Marty Swant of ADWEEK. Beardsketball, which debuted prior to Friday's Warriors-Rockets game, is "equipped with an 80-inch digital backboard programmed with Harden's head trash-talking and congratulating each person trying to make shots." People who played wore a "pair of Snapchat Spectacles linked to Trolli's Snapchat account," which had content "pushing out throughout the game." The same content "featured in the backboard will also be on a microsite," which lets fans at home "pick various quotes from Harden to send to their friends across social channels." Ferrara Senior VP/Marketing & Brand Strategy Jill Manchester, whose company owns Trolli, said that the Beardsketball setup "will begin a yearlong tour of the U.S." Swant noted that "includes some Harden appearances, such as his basketball camp in Houston for underprivileged kids and the NBA All-Star Game." It also is slated to travel to the Coachella music festival in April and "other events that fit the Trolli brand" (
ADWEEK.com, 1/20).
