The Official Site of Brandon Roy

Tue, Mar 11th 2008, 09:43

Brandon to be one of the stars of new Nike campaign

Nike today unveils its answer to Under Armour Inc.‘s entrance into the cross-trainer shoe market with a multimedia marketing campaign broader than any of its previous efforts, a markedly different TV ad from Under Armour’s Super Bowl spot … and professional lacrosse players to boot.

Online, the Beaverton area shoemaker will offer website visitors training insights by its athletes and a chance to seek training advice from certified trainers through a 4-year-old, Portland-based company called Sparq Inc.

On TV, Nike will launch two spots created by Portland’s Wieden+Kennedy starting Wednesday on widely watched “American Idol” and during college conference and NCAA basketball tournaments. The “My Better”-taglined campaign features Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy, Madras native and Boston Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury and Portland LumberJax player Ryan Powell.

Powell’s appearance in the above 60-second spot (and that of Los Angeles Riptide midfielder Kyle Harrison) marks the first time that Nike has used pro lacrosse players in a TV ad, Nike vice president for global marketing Joaquin Hidalgo said. Powell gets as much face time in the spot as NBA All-Star Roy. The ad features high-definition footage of athletes — pro and amateur — moving in varying speeds to the tune of “List of Demands” by artist/songwriter/poet Saul Williams, who, coincidentally, is slated to perform March 18th at Portland’s Aladdin Theater. Tyler Whisnand and Mike McCommon were W+K’s creative directors on the campaign.

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