There's never a hiatus in the basketball marketing world. Though the NBA Finals wrapped in June, summertime is prime time for the shoe and apparel makers, the best time to sell the shoes, shirts, shorts and sweatbands that power the intense outdoor play that takes place in the heat of the season.
Reebok is using TV, radio, print and outdoor advertising to drive kids and young adults to rbk.com, where its Above the Rim (ATR by RBK) brand is hosting an interactive game. The ATR by RBK program is titled "Whodunit?" and features the cornerstone of Reebok's stable of young ballers: Baron Davis, Kenyon Martin, Steve Francis and Jason Richardson. The campaign broke on TV and online July 9, with new TV executions slated for today and Aug. 11.
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| Reebok, Canton, Mass. |
 Chief marketing officer: Micky Pant |
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| Vice president of RBK: Todd Krinsky |
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| Director of global advertising: Brian Povinelli |
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| Marketing communications manager: Scott Junk |
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| Arnell Group, New York |
| Account management team: Jennifer Jacobson, group account director; Juliane Negroni, account director; Jerry Chu, account executive |
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| Chairman and chief creative officer: Peter Arnell |
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| Executive creative director: Steve Stoute |
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| Art director: Marcus Glover |
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| Agency producer: Miriam Franklin |
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| Production company: FM Rocks Inc. |
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| Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber |
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| Producers: Craig Fanning, Tom Mickel |
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| Music/sound: Comma Music, Santa Monica, Calif. |
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| Editing: Lance Pereira, Chrome, Santa Monica, Calif. |
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The advertising work, which is running predominantly on TV, teases the Web-based promotion effectively. The initial spot features a couple of detectives investigating a late-night crime scene. The outline of a body is chalked on an urban outdoor basketball court.
One says to the other: "This guy got clowned by a serious move. There's only a handful of players could pull off something like this." Analyzing the move and a shoeprint, they determine the shoe is "definitely high end, definitely RBK." They narrow the scope of potential perps to Francis, Davis, Martin and Richardson.
The spot shows all four NBA stars, both standing against a height grid as if in mugshot mode, as well as going to the hole wearing the new line of ATR shoes. The piece concludes with a bold graphic of the promotional Web address.
The spots are running on ESPN, Fox Sports Net, BET, UPN and MTV with print supplemented in ESPN The Magazine and urban/hardcore hoop books such as Slam, Vibe, XXL, Complex, King and Dime.
As a creative concept, "Whodunit?" is fairly successful. The work is fun, and reasonably effectively links these rising stars to RBK as it invites the audience to participate in the Web experience. The copy is well-written and delivered with deadpan delight by the two detectives.
The campaign does stumble into a common trap: The story in the TV ad, created by Arnell Group in New York, overwhelms the brand and product focus that might allow the work to drive additional sales. The spot tries to communicate an enormous amount in a short time. The introductory 30-second TV spot has more than 40 edits, so the pacing is extremely brisk. Reebok would be well-advised to cut the spot into a 60-second version that could linger on the Slamaze, Swagger II and Bangonya Reflex models of ATR shoes the campaign is designed to sell.
The Web experience at rbk.com is well-produced and extremely well-engineered, though it spends far more time on what comes off as a somewhat forced game of Clue than it does selling shoes. With a couple of simple creative edits, ATR by RBK might be able to fine-tune this campaign to its best advantage.
James H. Harris (jharris@sportsbusinessjournal.com) is CEO of Chicago-based marketing consultancy Thoughtstep Inc.
