Nike and Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, released a new ad honoring Kobe Bryant yesterday on the day of his memorial, and the "Mamba Forever" spot features a "little more than two minutes of carefully selected audio and the bare minimum of copy," according to David Griner of ADWEEK. As "Forever" stays on the screen, viewers "journey back through Bryant's rise to greatness and are reminded of the many phases and accomplishments he experienced along the way." His early childhood and teen years in Philadelphia are marked by "Philly Kid Forever," while "Reggiano Forever" commemorates the years of his youth "happily spent in Reggio Emilia, Italy, where his father played basketball after retiring from the NBA." Nike "ticks off the years of his increasingly dominant professional career as we entered a new millennium." The ad continues to "mark the high moments of Bryant's career," including representing the U.S. in the '08 and '12 Olympics. Griner wrote where the video's minimalist storytelling "truly shines is in the range of the ways it reminds us of Bryant's impact on others." Nike has proven itself "capable of walking a respectful line with the sporting world's most difficult times and emotionally charged topics." Other brands "should not try to accomplish something like this, something with such emotional resonance at a time of raw and multilayered emotions." Griner: "The reason is simple: Other brands cannot accomplish something like this" (ADWEEK.com, 2/24).
SOLES FOR THE SOUL: FOOTWEAR NEWS' Victor Deng noted Nike is expected to celebrate Bryant's legacy with a "new iteration of the Kobe 5." The sneaker, slated to arrive next month, "features the colors" of the Lakers. The shoe features a "purple-based upper and black and gold accents throughout." While Nike has "not yet confirmed the release info, select retailers have this 'Lakers' Zoom Kobe 5 Protro releasing on March 26." This specific colorway "made its on-court debut" with Lakers F Anthony Davis during the NBA All-Star Game (FOOTWEARNEWS.com, 2/24).
