James Harden Reluctantly Takes a Selfie With a Camel in Foot Locker’s Twitter-Dares Campaign

Your wish is James Harden's command. Or it was, at least, for one day.

Last Thursday marked the culmination of Foot Locker's #PlayMyTweet campaign from BBDO New York. For two weeks prior, the brand had invited consumers to pose challenges to the Houston Rockets star, via Twitter. Foot Locker then printed a selection of the requests onto basketballs, and on October 8th, Harden shot the custom balls during a live event, promising to take on the dares if he missed. "Yodel? Eat a raw onion? Wax my leg? Braid my beard?," Harden suggested in the September 24 call to action.

None of those punishments made the final cut. But Harden did find himself riding a tricycle wearing a clown nose while eating an ice cream cone (a feat all the harder, it seems, given his signature beard)—and more.

A new seven minute video features that scene and other highlights. Those also include Harden reluctantly taking a selfie with a camel (presumably not Geico's Caleb), and singing "I'm a Little Teapot." ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne plays host, and—spoiler alert—gets the kind of punishment you might expect if you crossed an old Nickolodeon game show with Food Network programming and the Ice Bucket Challenge.

It's not Harden's first go-around with the internet for Foot Locker—last fall, he played a game of H-O-R-S-E with the web, trying to match the most gnarly trick shots players could perform (Of partcular note: the hype man's summary of a between-the-legs stunt, circa 2:15).

Here, though, the stakes are higher for Harden. Foot Locker excluded some of the more sadistic propositions (shaving his eyebrows, dunking in high heels), but he still dodges some bullets (namely, wearing a chicken suit for an indeterminate amount of time). Mostly—and unsurprisingly—he's cast as a good sport, honoring a number of requests even when he sinks the ball (What kind of person, let alone superstar, would snub the kid on the sidelines?). The shots themselves, meanwhile, vary in difficulty, including a cruel trick or two, which helps mitigate the perception of staging. And while the proceedings can't but display a certain hammy quality at moments, the whole thing is fun and friendly—with just a small dose of humiliation.  

Except, naturally, for Mayne.

CREDITS

Client: Foot Locker

Agency: BBDO New York

Ad: #PlayMyTweet

Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars

Chief Creative Officer, New York: Greg Hahn 

Executive Creative Director: Chris Beresford-Hill

Executive Creative Director: Dan Lucey

Art Director: Martins Zelcs

Copywriter: Bryan Stokely

Project Manager: Amy Orgel

Director of Integrated Production: David Rolfe

Associate Director of Digital Production: Joe Croson

Event Producer: Olivia Boutcher

Interactive Producer: Eric Bloom

Projects Lead: Michael Gentile

Director, VP: Janelle Van Wonderen

Account Manager: Nick Robbins

Account Executive: Samuel Henderson

Senior Digital Strategist: Rhys Hillman

Production Company: The Kitchen

Director: Lawrence Chen

DP/1st Cam: Jon Chen

Live Event Editor: Keith Vogelsong 

Executive Producer: Renee Haar

Line Producer: Jonathan Hsu

Editorial Company: Mackenzie Cutler

Executive Producer: Sasha Hirschfeld,

Editor: Nick Divers

Music Composition | Cameron Thompkins