Nike Just Made This Remarkable Farewell Ad to Kobe Bryant in China, Where He's Revered

Love him or hate him, Kobe Bryant is a legend. In China, they mostly love him—he's made a concerted effort, with Nike, to reach out to his Chinese fans over the past decade. And the Chinese have responded with adulation all but unmatched for American sports stars. Now, with Bryant's last game fast approaching, Nike and Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai have created a stirring 60-second tribute commercial. And it's all about that love—which Bryant says might actually be a bit misguided. [jwplayer zFHyg6oK-1kT9Z8rj] "Kobe has an intimate relationship with the Chinese ballers, so he knows exactly how to teach and motivate them," says Terence Leong, creative director of W+K Shanghai. "Together with Nike China and Kobe, our team crafted the script and made sure the film was just as provocative as the man himself. It was an intense and uncompromising process because Kobe was just as demanding on the creative team as he was on the Lakers." W+K creative director Azsa West adds: "[Kobe] chose to focus on becoming a legend rather than being a hero. When it comes to winning, Kobe is willing to push himself to risk everything. Because standing back and doing nothing, that's real failure. This philosophy is very Nike 'Just do it,' and Kobe is the perfect person to deliver this spirit of Nike." CREDITS Client: Nike Campaign: "Kobe Last Season" Spot: "Don't Love Me, Hate Me" Launch Date: 7 April 2016 Agency: Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai Executive Creative Director: Yang Yeo Creative Directors: Terence Leong, Azsa West Copywriters: Nick Finney, Wei Liu Senior Art Director: Shaun Sundholm Senior Designers: Patrick Rockwell, Will Dai Integrated Production Director: Angie Wong Assistant Producers: Yuan Fang, Jiji Hu Offline Editor: Hiro Ikematsu Business Director: Dino Xu Associate Account Director: Jim Zhou Account Executive: Shawn Kai Senior Planner: Paula Bloodworth Digital Strategist: Bill Tang Project Manager: Nicole Bee Business Affairs: Jessica Deng, Kathy Zhan Production Companies: Elastic TV; Lunar Films Director: Biff Butler Line Producer: Kelly Christensen Director of Photography: Rachel Morrison Executive Producer (Elastic): Belinda Blacklock Managing Director (Elastic): Jennifer Sofio Hall Executive Producer (Lunar): Ken Yap Post Producer (Lunar): Jeff Tannebring Editing: Rock Paper Scissors Editors: Biff Butler, Alyssa Oh Post Producer: Christopher Noviello Executive Producers: Angela Dorian, Linda Carlson Postproduction: a52 2-D Visual Effects Artists: Michael Vaglienty, Adam Flynn Smoke Artist: Chris Riley Conform: Gabe Sanchez Rotoscope Artists: Tiffany German, Cathy Shaw, Robert Shaw Colorist: Paul Yacono Design: Pete Sickbert-Bennett 2-D, 3-D Animation: David Do, Steven Do, Claudia De Leon, Sam Cividanis Senior Color Producer: Jenny Bright Producer: Drew Rissman Head of Production: Kim Christensen Deputy Head of Production: Carol Salek Executive Producer: Patrick Nugent Original Music, Sound Design, Mix: Lime Studios Original Music: Andy Huckvale Mixer: Zac Fisher Assistant Mixer: Kevin McAlpine Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan

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Nike Just Made This Remarkable Farewell Ad to Kobe Bryant in China, Where He's Revered

The retiring star even helped with the script

Tim Nudd

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Tim Nudd