Oh hey, remember “Bo don’t know Diddly?”
Jackson was the first guy who came to mind when we watched this latest Sprite campaign by W+K, which also made those classic ads in the late 80s.
You already know that Bo did the “I can play multiple sports” thing way before Michael Jordan—and he was better at it, too.
Anyway, this Sprite spot places one LeBron James in an unusual place (the middle of the baseball diamond) while celebrating his ability to destroy anyone who comes up against him, even in a game he’s never played competitively.
It’s all colorful and surreal and cartoonish, sorta like Wieden’s Old Spice work. And in case you missed it, Interscope rapper Kamaiyah played the catcher.
In another :15, LeBron pulls a classic “psych out the batter” move with his secret weapon … a can of Sprite. The YouTube description copy also outs him as “the best pitchman in the game of refreshment,” adding, “If you were looking for a thing about LeBron James, that must have been something else.”
Ah OK, we get it.
From brand director Bobby Oliver: “Continuing the lightheartedness of the ‘Wanna Sprite’ integrated marketing campaign, we wanted to find a fun way to remind consumers of the big taste that a cool, crisp and refreshing Sprite has. We decided to put LeBron James and Kamaiyah together in a larger-than-life environment that we’re not typically used to seeing them in, and the result is pretty refreshing.”
CREDITS
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy New York
Client: Sprite
Campaign: “Big Taste”
Executive Creative Director – Karl Lieberman
Creative Directors – Jimm Lasser, Caleb Jensen
Copywriter – Pepe Hernandez
Art Director – Blair Warren
Executive Producer – Orlee Tatarka
Senior Producer – Jessica Griffeth
Social Strategy – Jessica Breslin, Carlos Tovar
Strategic Planning – Brandon Thornton, Aya Watanabe
Media, Comms Planning – Karlo Cordova, Branden Bouvia
Account Team – Jordan Muse, Meaghan Hinder, Raquel Castro, Carla Caban
Business Affairs – Patrick O’Donoghue, Brit Fryer, Carla Curry, Andrea Sierra
Project Management – Alex Doomany
Head of Production – Nick Setounski
Trafficking – Sonia Bisono, Andy Hume
Production Company – Chelsea Pictures
Director – David Gordon Green
Executive – Producer Pat McGoldrick
Producer – JD Davison
Director of Photography – Eric Treml
Editorial Company – Joint
Editor – Kevin Zimmerman
Assistant Editor – Stephen Nelson
Post Producer – Stephen Schmidt, Renee Haar
Post Executive Producer – Michelle Carman
VFX Company – The Mill
Lead VFX Artist – Jimmy Bullard, Dae Yoon Kang
VFX Producer – Hayley Wallach, Bugs Russell
VFX Team – Ben Kwok, Dhruv Shankar, Marco Baratto, Sungeun Moon
Lead CG Artist – Emily Meger
CG Team – Cole T. Clark, Incheol Jeong, Juan Carlos Barquet, Navdeep Singh, Weichieh Yu
GFX Artist – Laura Nash
Colorist – Michael Rossiter
Music – Dom Tunon, Nick Hook, Storefront Music
Sound Design – Bill Chesley – Henry Boy.
Mix Company – Sonic Union
Mixer – Steve Rosen
Color Company – The Mill
Colorist – Mikey Rossiter