Translation, which has been handling creative for the NBA since winning AOR status in December of 2014, launched a campaign hyping the NBA Playoffs with a little help from Shaquille O’Neal, who would know a thing or two about the subject as a three-time NBA Finals MVP.
“So you want to know about the playoffs?” O’Neal asks the camera at the beginning of the spot, while standing in an elevator. He sums it up as “larger than life,” citing the noise and the intensity as footage of NBA Playoffs games are interspersed with his speech. Shaq is then briefly, and awkwardly, interrupted before tying things back to the “This Is Why We Play” tagline Translation introduced for the start of the 2015 NBA season.
The spot launched online and on social media yesterday during, targeting those second screen views from basketball fans. Later today, an outtake featuring some trademark Shaq being Shaq goofiness will follow it online, which could prove an antidote for viewers who think the 30-second “Larger Than Life” could have used some less scripted Shaq moments.
Credits:
Brand/Client: NBA
Campaign Title: This Is Why We Play
Spot Title: “Larger Than Life” (Shaquille O’Neal)
First Air Date: April 27, 2017
Agency: Translation
Chief Executive Officer: Steve Stoute
Chief Creative Officer: John Norman
Chief Strategy Officer: John Greene
Group Creative Director: Matthew McFerrin
Group Creative Director: Achilles Li
Creative, Copywriter: Lyla Abi-Saab
Creative, Art Director: Dylan Simel
Director of Content Production: Miriam Franklin
Executive Content Producer: Colleen Miller
Director of Business Affairs: Thalia Tsouros
Senior Content Producer: Kristen Cooler
Associate Content Producer: Ruganzu Howard
Group Account Director: Stanley Lumax
Account Director: Agustina Marcos
Project Manager: Matt DeSimone
Production Company: Humble
Director: Tom Carty
Director of Photography: Eric Treml
Executive Producer: Mark Kovacs
Line Producer: Jorge Khuly
Editorial: Final Cut
Editor: Spencer Campbell
Executive Producer: Sarah Roebuck
Head of Production: Jen Sienkwicz
Producer: Brad Wood
Assistant Editor: Brandon Iben
Postproduction Company: Significant Others
Creative Director/Lead VFX Artist: Dirk Greene
VFX Producer: Alek Rost
Production Coordinator: Kyra Hendricks
VFX Assistant: Taylor Gonzalez
GFX Artist: Phillip Brooks
Audio Company: Significant Others
Sound Mixer: T. Terressa Tate
Audio Producer: Alek Rost
Color Grade: Color Collective
Colorist: Alex Bickel
Executive Producer: Claudia Guevara
Music House: Future Perfect Music
EP: Maxwell Gosling
Producer: Nargis Sheerazie