My, how the 180 LA’s “Fast Don’t Lie” campaign for Adidas has grown since the days when we were just getting acquainted to Slim Chin, his Benjamin pile and his pet cheetah.
This time around, Adidas is losing the Ken Jeong cameo and turning to the folks at Stardust to create animated shorts of the campaign’s protagonists, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard and Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose. The two new spots, directed by Stardust’s Jake Banks and inspired by techniques used on A-Ha’s breakthrough music video for “Take on Me,” find the two NBA All-Stars immersed in a mix of cell animation and live-action footage.
With the way Rose and Howard have been playing this season, both leading their teams into playoff contention with currently the 3rd and 4th respectively ranked clubs in the Eastern Conference, it’s clear Adidas made the right call when deciding which young athletes it would sign to its roster. And, considering Howard’s big personality on and off the court and Rose’s potential to take the Bulls back to their former glory, these two twenty-somethings have the star power to keep the brand’s basketball line competitive for years to come.