We've seen this marketing stunt countless times: Big brand dips into its deep pockets to give some hardworking, deserving, photogenic youngsters a new playground or a concert or a trip to Toys R Us. But this well-worn tactic can still wield some power.
This time, it's Gatorade, with a cameo from Dwyane Wade, giving an extreme makeover to a high school basketball team's locker room in New Orleans. The Riverdale Rebels, it seems, haven't had a very good run in the past few decades. Now, though, the scrappy, close-knit team (mantras: "I got your back!" and "Family!") are heading to the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. Gatorade, in what looks to be the final two quarters of a recent Rebels win, replaced busted metal lockers and bare-bones facilities with NBA-quality digs.
The effort, dubbed "We Are All-Stars," from ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day in Los Angeles, broke Monday, timed to the NBA's All-Star weekend. The reaction from the teenage ballers to their new locker room and a visit from D-Wade? It's as sweet as a fruit punch-flavored sports drink. Go ahead and enjoy it.
Credits below.
CREDITS
Client: Gatorade
Senior Director, Communications: Molly Carter
Director, Branded Entertainment: Jill Kinney
Manager, Branded Entertainment: Nancy Laroche
Senior Manager, Communications: Noah Gold
Director, Sports Marketing: Jeff Chieng
Assistant Manager, Global Sports Marketing: Eduardo Gomez
Senior Manager, Digital Marketing: Abhishek Jadon
Assistant Manager, Digital Marketing: Nicki Granadier
Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles
Chief Creative Officer: John Norman
Executive Creative Director: Brent Anderson
Creative Directors: Renato Fernandez, Gustavo Sarkis
Associate Creative Director Guto Araki
Art Director: Tiffany Lam
Associate Creative Director: Doug Menezes
Copywriter: Scott Reedy
Executive Producer: Sarah Patterson
Producer: Alicia Portner
Executive Project Manager: Karen Thomas
Account Supervisor: Kyle Webster
Account Executive: Ralph Lee
Group Planning Director: Scott MacMaster
Planning Director: Martin Ramos
Managing Director: Peter Ravailhe
Group Account Director: Blake Crosbie
Account Manager: Marc Johns
Executive Business Affairs Manager: Lisa Lipman
Broadcast Traffic: Jerry Neill
Production Company: Bandito Brothers
Director: Jacob Rosenberg
Executive Producer: Suzanne Hargrove
Producer: Cassidy Lunnen
Art Director: John Gathright
Director of Photography: Laura Merians
Editing: Venice Beach Editorial
Editor: Greg Young
Assistant Editors: Micah Chase, Cutler Gray
Executive Producder: Hunter Conner
Music: Asche & Spencer
Other Partners:
FleishmanHillard
Vice President: Courtney Quaye
Managing Supervisor: Ashley Ginascol
OMD/OS
Associate Director, Optimum Sports: Natalie Behrman
Supervisor, Optimum Sports: Seth Frankenthal
Digital Supervisor, OMD: Alexis Acker
Strategist: Michael Fee
VML
Account Director: Stephanie DeCelles
Account Supervisor: Erin Zehner
Senior Account Manager: Lauren Cochran
Senior Channel Manager: Kristin Gritt
Channel Manager: Katrina Steffensen
