So I recently wrote how I was confused by Lebron’s marketing strategies, but after watching his latest “puppet” Kobe v. Lebron for MVP commercial, I’m sold! Lebron is the greatest of our time. I bought 10 pairs of his new 6s in 10 different colorways!
Thumbu tells me it’s a throwback to the Lil Penny days. I concur.
I know it’s not necessarily Lebron, nor Kobe doing the voices. But these puppets give the NBA AND NIKE some youthfulness and vitality and excitement that it’s sorely missed in the last decade. Could the NBA and Nike finally be getting their sense of humor back?
Atma Brother #1 described the “Where Amazing Happens” promotions of the early to mid millenium as the culmination of the NBA and it’s tentacles of related industries (i.e. apparel like NIKE) anti-kid campaign. The 90s NBA family show instructed kids to go out and be healthy, while making sure that their shorts were sagging like C.Webb and their tongues wagging like MJ. Not only that, but the NBA and Nike, might possibly have been onto something big when they endorsed and made early 90s black power interesting for kids, too. The new NBA mantra of the 200s followed the logics of U.S. neoliberalism’s extreme focus on the financialization of everything: expanding global markets and attracting the corporate market to buy season tickets and box seats through serious professionalization through expensive suits. Fun was apparently antithetical to making big bucks. Check the links of these commercials, Atma’s readings of these NBA and Nike representations are sharp and hard to deny.
But with his recent MVP award and this other Lebron commercial (see below) featuring IT girl for 3 months of 2008, Nicole Scherzinger, makes me think Lebron’s got his marketing right! Can we say his weaving of near perfection to the point of untouchable-ness on the court and off-the-court with his new and improved fun-loving personality make him the nex …MJ? Is he the perfect “professional heroism” (see Thumbu) that we seek in our athletes: 1 part domination, 1 part mogul and cultural icon, and another part best-friend. This extended commercial, which brings back “Business Lebron” from his “The Lebrons” commercial series from 2007, given us the “savior” that the NBA needs to finally end “the next MJ” comparisons and do what MJ would have done but didn’t yet in the late 80s to mid 90s: finding the perfect sweet spot between corporate and youth markets. See for your self. In Professional Lebron’s words, he’s “not perfect. Close. But I’m (he’s) not.”
Over and under, baby. Over and under…
2 Comments
May 14, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Too bad Kobe can’t do commercials like this, his wife would whoop his ass.
May 14, 2009 at 11:03 pm
haha, yea, he totally ruined his chances…! plus kobe is just so serious, i imagine his teammates are afraid of him as are the ladies.