The NBA is launching a new advertising effort for the upcoming season called “I’m Why” that includes three new spots and, eventually, new commercials from all 30 NBA teams.
The “I’m Why” effort is the latest iteration of the NBA’s “This Is Why We Play” global advertising campaign that the league created in 2015.
Translation is the NBA’s agency of record, and the “I’m Why” campaign begins this week with spots to appear on NBA TV and the league’s digital and social media outlets.
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The “I’m Why” marketing effort begins this week with spots to appear on NBA TV.
Photo by: NBA |
The new ads include a 30-second and 60-second spot called “Tipping Off 2017” featuring highlights from last season, while a new 60-second “Golden State’s Homecourt Advantage” spot focuses on a member of the Warriors’ game-night staff responsible for covering Oracle Arena’s 19,596 seats with gold shirts before playoff games. The “Homecourt” spot will air locally in the Bay Area on Sept. 30 and is the first of the 30 original team spots to be unveiled throughout the season.
“This year we wanted to go deep and talk about what drives the game, whether it is a player or someone who works in the arena,” said NBA Chief Marketing Officer Pamela El of the league’s plan to roll out ads from each NBA team. “We will produce 30 unique spots, one for each team telling a story of that team. It will be much more personal.”
The third 60-second spot in the “I’m Why” campaign is the “I’m Why Mexico 2017” ad that will run only in Mexico as the league marks its 25th year of playing games in that country. The Mexico City Games in December feature the Brooklyn Nets playing the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 7 followed by the Nets playing the Miami Heat on Dec. 9 at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico.
The spot, to begin running in Mexico this week, was created by Havas and is the first NBA ad to be run specifically in Mexico.
“It is the first time we have done an original piece to highlight games in that market,” El said.
The league also will create additional new spots around its Christmas Day games and for its prime-time Saturday night broadcasts on ABC.
“We will have messaging around all of our tent-pole events,” El said.
