barrettSF launched its first work for Bleacher Report with “Sports Alphabet,” the first array into brand advertising for the company, which features a sports-themed re-imagining of Blackalicious‘s iconic “Alphabet Aerobics.”
The spot sets the song to an animated montage which speeds up and slows down to match the pace of the music. Gentleman Scholar provided the animation, working with the agency to create a different style for each letter of the alphabet. Getting Blackalicious into the study to remix their own song was a smart move, as it’s hard to imagine anyone pulling it off as a simple tribute. It’s a memorable approach, which saw the agency, Bleacher Report and Gentleman Scholar trying something different and while Bleacher Report doesn’t get mentioned until the conclusion, it works as an homage to sport that fans can get excited about, presenting Bleacher Report as fellow obsessives. The spot made its debut yesterday during TNT’s coverage of the Oklahoma City Thunder/Miami Heat game.
“This project is about collaboration and risk,” said barrettSF executive creative director Pete Harvey. “Bleacher Report is sticking themselves out there with a film that rewrites the sports alphabet, and asked us, alongside Gentlemen Scholar, to surprise people with the execution.”
“The Bleacher Report brand is getting bigger and louder, so we wanted to create a spot that was… big and loud,” added Bleacher Report general manager Dorth Raphaely.
Credits:
Title: “Sports Alphabet”
Client: Bleacher Report
Creative Credits: Bleacher Report “Sports Alphabet”
Agency: barrettSF
Agency Location: San Francisco, CA
Executive Creative Directors: Pete Harvey & Jamie Barrett
Associate Creative Director: Brad Kayal
Senior Copywriter: Jake Reilly
Art Director: Byron Wages
Senior Producer: Nicole Van Dawark
Producer: Patrick Wilkinson
Associate Producer: Charlotte Dugoni
Managing Director: Patrick Kelly
Account Director: Molly Warner
Production Company: Gentleman Scholar
Directors: William Campbell & Will Johnson
Executive Producer: Jo Arghiris
Head of Production: Rachel Kaminek
Associate Creative Director: John-Patrick Rooney
Art Director: Jordan Lyle
CG Supervisor: Tim Hayward
Producer: Nikki Maniolas
Associate Producer: Nicole Smarsh
Design: Trevor Conrad, Chris Finn, Sarah Beth Hulver, Jordan Lyle, Macauley Johnson, John-Patrick Rooney, Calla Donofrio, Hana Eunjin Yean
2D Animation: Chris Finn, Sarah Beth Hulver, Jordan Lyle, Macauley Johnson, John-Patrick Rooney, Shawn Kim
Cel Animation: Tristan Balos, Taik Lee, Stephanie Simpson, Harry Teitelman
Character Animation: Blake Beynon, James Lane
Music: Blackalicious
Sound Design: Barking Owl
Sound Designer: Michael Anastasi
Creative Director: Kelly Bayett
Producer: KC Dossett
Audio Mix: One Union Recording
Engineer: Matt Zipkin
Executive Producer: Lauren Mask