On the field, Calvin Johnson earns his “Megatron” nickname by dominating defenses with a robotic efficiency. He’s bigger, faster, stronger, and at times, it looks like a Transformer is playing against humans. However, off the field, and more specifically, in the ESPN offices, Johnson uses his transforming powers to trick a different kind of opponent (for anyone who cares and watches too much ESPN, it’s Kevin Negandhi).
The latest “This is Sportscenter” ad is par for the course: short, funny, and off-beat. The work comes once again from W+K New York (which has been handling SportsCenter work for nearly two decades), an agency that has no problem taking sports material and making it accessible to audiences. And for Megatron, he may want to think about outsourcing his Transformer duties over to Diddy, or Johnson, or whatever Nike wants to call him.
Credits after the jump.
W+K NEW YORK
Executive Creative Directors Scott Vitrone and Ian Reichenthal
Creative Directors Stuart Jennings and Brandon Henderson
Creatives Gary Van Dzura
Producer Orlee Tatarka
Associate Producer Blakely McKnight
Head of Content Production Lora Schulson
Executive Producer Temma Shoaf
Account Team Casey Bernard, Brian Racis, Jonathan Chu
PRODUCTION
Production Company O Positive
Director David Shane
Executive Producer Marc Grill
Line Producer Ken Licata
Director of Photography David Morabito
EDITORIAL
Editorial Company Mackenzie Cutler
Editor Dave Anderson
Assistant Editor Mike Leuis
Post Producer Sasha Hirschfeld
VFX
VFX Company The Mill
Senior Producer Charlotte Arnold
Production Asst. Juan Handal
Lead Flame Artist/Creative
Director
VFX Supervisor Jeff Robins
Assist Jeff Butler, Rob Meade
Jeff Robins
MIX
Mix Company Sonic Union
Mixer Steve Rosen