NBA star Stephen Curry is famous for shooting three-pointers. So, for each one he sinks during this year's postseason, Under Armour will honor him with a new three-second ad.
The sports marketer launched the campaign on Twitter last Saturday, when the playoffs first started, tweeting the first round of spots under hashtag #BreaktheGame during a match that saw Curry's team, the Golden State Warriors, crush the Houston Rockets 104-78.
In the playoffs, we are dropping a 3-second Curry ad every time @StephenCurry30 drops a 3. #BreakTheGamehttps://t.co/V2ar9GMFh1
— Under Armour Hoops (@UAbasketball) April 16, 2016
The mischievous three-second videos feature Curry wondering—not once but twice—what a pile of bricks are doing courtside. Other bits in his comedy act include starting to share the secret to his success before being cut off, and taping a marker at the three-point line to ensure his enemies—whoever they are—don't move it to thwart him.
Can you keep a secret? #BreakTheGamehttps://t.co/SBHd6LWhhv
— Under Armour Hoops (@UAbasketball) April 16, 2016
It's good to be prepared. #BreakTheGamehttps://t.co/8opecFTleW
— Under Armour Hoops (@UAbasketball) April 16, 2016
A numerically themed campaign might seem a little on the nose (and any super-short ad can't but evoke Miller High Life's famous 1-second Super Bowl ad from 2009). Still, Under Armour and agency Droga5 are clever to capitalize on Curry's knack for scoring an obscene number of long-distance shots. This season, he shattered his own—and the league's—previous record for three-pointers, raising the high bar from a measly 286 ... to 402.
In other words, viewers might easily see five new ads per game—about on par with Curry's performance during 2015 playoffs, when the Warriors won the championship after 21 matches. Assuming similar performance from him and his team (who are strongly favored to win the crown again this year after a blistering 73-9 season), Under Armour looks topical, and is only on the hook for about five and a half minutes of footage.
Then again, that's still a lot of three-second ads. Follow along on UAs Twitter account.
CREDITS
Client: Under Armour
Campaign: #BreaktheGame
Agency: Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Group Creative Director: Tim Gordon
Copywriter: Benjamin Bliss
Art Director: Evan Schultz:
Designer: Toga Cox:
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Head of Broadcast Production: Ben Davies
Executive Producer: David Cardinali
Associate Producer: Isabella Lebovitz
Head of Interactive Production: Niklas Lindstrom
Head of Art Production: Cliff Lewis
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Group Strategy Director: Harry Roman
Strategy Director: Sam Matthews
Junior Strategist: Newman Granger
Head of Communications Strategy: Colleen Leddy
Senior Communications Strategist: Hillary Heath
Social Communications Strategist: Maureen O'Brien
Data Strategist: Anthony Khaykin
Group Account Director: : Julian Cheevers
Account Director: : Bola Adekoya
Account Supervisor: Lucy Santilli
Associate Account Manager: Scott Bubis
Senior Project Manager: Courtney Kosup
Project Manager: Connor Hall
Client:
CEO and Founder: Kevin Plank
Chief Marketing Officer : Kip Fulks
SVP, Global Brand Management: Adrienne Lofton
SVP, Global Communications: Diane Pelkey
VP, Global Creative: Brian Boring
VP, Global Consumer Engagement: Jim Mollica
Director, Global Marketing Operations—Process
& integration : Teresa Oles
Director, Global Basketball: Tai Foster
Production Company: O Positive
Director: Jim Jenkins
DOP: Roberto Schaefer
Executive Producer: Ralph Laucella:
Line Producer: Ken Licata
Editorial: Droga5 Studio
Editor: Matthew Badger:
Studio Coordinator: CJ Strahan
Post Production: The Mill
Executive Producer: Sean Costello
Senior Producer: Nick Strange Thye
2D Lead: Brandon Danowski
Colorist: Michael Rossiter
Color producer: Natalie Westerfield
Color Assistant: Evan Bauer
Sound: Heard City
Engineer: Jeremy Siegel
Executive Producer: Gloria Pitagorsky
Producer: Talia Rodgers