Tracy Morgan and Foot Locker Have ‘Greatness in Common’ in Latest From BBDO New York

By Erik Oster 

BBDO New York launched two new spot celebrating the return of Foot Locker’s “Week of Greatness” with another comeback: the return of Tracy Morgan following a tragic traffic collision in June of 2014.

It’s really great to see Tracy back and that would be more than enough to attract attention for the ads, and Foot Locker’s “Week of Greatness” event. Fortunately, though, “Greatness in Common” is legitimately funny, enough so that we’ll avoid giving away the punchlines. The ad opens on Tracy remarking on how great it is to be back before wondering, aside from both being back and being great, what he and the “Week of Greatness” have in common. It may be a bit obvious as a setup, but the jokes that follow are funny, with Morgan revisiting the type of craziness his Tracy Jordan character regularly displayed on 30 Rock.

“Imitators” pales in comparison, feeling a bit like an afterthought, with Morgan remarking that “If you don’t come back strong, imitators will try to replace you” before worrying that his new chef and a flower delivery service are trying to take his spot in his home. Even with the weaker material, Morgan’s return is a welcome one and we’d love to him given more material in the vein of “Greatness in Common” for the brand in the future. This is more likely a limited partnership for the “Week of Greatness” promotion, though, making it all the more noteworthy.

“I had a great time working with Foot Locker and was grateful to work with my wife and daughter in one of the spots,” said Morgan. “It means a lot to me to be able to team up with Foot Locker on their ‘Week of Greatness.’ I’m happy to do this for my fans and hope to make them laugh during one of the biggest weeks of the year!”

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Credits:
Agency: BBDO New York
Client: Foot Locker

Foot Locker:
Stacy Cunningham – Chief Marketing Officer
Francine Feder – VP, Integrated Brand Marketing
Jed Berger – VP, US Marketing
Rachael Schnell – Director, Marketing Brand
Ben Dignan – Director, Social Media
Christian Brunone – Director, Brand Connections
Amy Brauer – Manager, Brand Communications

BBDO:
David Lubars – Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide
Greg Hahn – Chief Creative Officer, New York
Chris Beresford-Hill – Executive Creative Director
Dan Lucey – Executive Creative Director
Austin Mankey – Senior Art Director
Mike Motch – Senior Copywriter
Tricia Lentini – Executive Producer
Amy Orgel – Project Manager

Troy Tarwater – Worldwide Senior Director
Janelle Van Wonderen – Account Director
Catherine Wright – Account Manager
Sam Henderson – Account Executive

oPositive Films:
Jim Jenkins – Director
Ralph Laucella – Executive Producer
Marc Grill – Producer
Bob Gantz – Director of Photography

No. 6 Editorial:
Jason MacDonald – Editor
Corina Dennison – Executive Producer
Malia Rose – Post Producer

Heard City Audio:
Philip Loeb – Mixer

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