Kevin Durant Schools Sonic's 'Two Guys' in the Brand's First Athlete-Backed Ad

After signing Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant last year, Sonic Drive-In's first ad campaign with the reigning NBA MVP from Goodby Silverstein & Partners puts a new twist on the brand's classic "Two Guys" ads. Starting today and continuing through August, 15- and 30-second spots will run on TV, online and on social media. The first 15-second ad plays off of the typical "Two Guys"—played by T. J. Jagodowski and Peter Grosz—commercials and takes place at a drive-in restaurant. But the second ad, a 30-second spot, got the brand to think more outside the box, said Sonic CMO Todd Smith. "Incorporating Kevin allowed us to take the two guys out of the car and into new and unexpected scenarios that hadn't previously been explored," Smith said. "Kevin is naturally funny, and the creative concepts played off his personality, which was a perfect combination [of] Pete and TJ's style of humor–Kevin even ad-libbed a line or two." In the longer ad, set in a gym, Durant takes on the two guys in basketball. The ads promote two new flavors of Sonic Slushes made with Nerds candies. The All Star is a blue raspberry-flavored drink, and the Game Changer is a lemon and strawberry concoction. "We saw this as a perfect opportunity to collaborate and introduce Kevin to our culinary innovation process, while getting really creative with one of our iconic menu offerings," Smith said. Sonic is bringing back Nerds-filled Slushes after a successful trial last year. USA Today reports the drinks continued to sell at roughly 50 percent of summer levels after the summer ended. The brand has run similar limited-time drinks in the past, including a mystery flavor that was only promoted on social media last year. CREDITS Ad Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners Client: Sonic Brand: Sonic Drive-In Title of Creative Work: "One on One on One" :30 / "Dunk" :15 Live Dates: 4/27/15 Sonic CEO and President: Cliff Hudson SVP and CMO: Todd Smith Director of Brand Advertising: Molly Brill GS&P Creative Executive Creative Director/Partner: Margaret Johnson ACD/Writer: Jon Wolanske Art Director: Sean Smith Copywriter: Kevin Steele Production Director of Broadcast Production: Tod Puckett Broadcast Producer: Matthew Winks Broadcast Producer: Christine Oh Assistant Broadcast Producer: Christina Wells Account Services Group Account Director: Leslie Barrett Account Director: Jenna Duboe Account Manager: Melody Cheung Assistant Account Manager: Olivia Mullen Brand and Communication Strategy Group Brand Strategy Director: Bonnie Wan Senior Brand Strategist: Melanie Wong Brand Strategist: Suhail Shaikh Group Communication Strategy Director: Dong Kim Senior Communication Strategist: John-James Richardson Research & Analytics Director: Heather Barrett Business Affairs Director of Business Affairs: Bess Cocke Business Affairs Associate Director: Judy Ybarra Business Affairs Manager: Jane Regan Business Affairs Manager: Chrissy Shearer Senior Broadcast Traffic Manager: Edgar Ornelas Outside Vendors Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks Director: Clay Weiner Managing Director: Shawn Lacy Executive Producer: Holly Vega Head or Production: Rachel Glaub Producer: Lisa Stockdale Editorial: Arcade Managing Partner: Damian Stevens Executive Producer: Nicole Visram Senior Editor: Nick Rondeau Editor: Healy Snow Online/VFX: Timber Managing Partner: Damian Stevens Creative Directors/Partners: Jonah Hall & Kevin Lau Executive Producer: Chris Webb Lead Flame Artist: Chris Homel Audio Mix: Lime Studios Mixer: Joel Waters Assistant Mixer: Kayla Phungglan

Brand Marketing

Kevin Durant Schools Sonic's 'Two Guys' in the Brand's First Athlete-Backed Ad

NBA star gets them out of the car

Lauren Johnson

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Lauren Johnson