The NBA has kicked off a new campaign to promote the NBA Playoffs that focuses on past playoff highlight reels to build excitement to tune in.
“Our strategy for this year’s NBA Playoffs campaign centers around an engaging video concept that not only captures the energy of fans and players as we enter the postseason, but also brings them in with humor and personal feel,” said NBA CMO Tammy Henault. “There have been countless viral playoff moments throughout NBA history where players up the ante to take their teams to the next level, so we took a lighthearted approach at spoofing the idea of ‘Playoff Mode’ and encouraging fans to tune in this season to see whose Playoff alter-ego will rise above the rest.”
The “Playoff Mode. It’s a Thing” effort features a spot narrated by Chris Rock that opens with Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics in a press conference as Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves asks, “Is Playoff Jayson a thing?” referring to playoff reels. Tatum denies it but Rock repeated the question for other players, including Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder) and more the same question.
The campaign premiered on April 16th and will run throughout the series on television, digital, digital, audio and out-of-home activations.
“During this time of year we know our core fans are watching, but we also see an increase in engagement with our more casual fans and those which we call ‘opportunity audiences,’ so we developed creative that would cater to all of those different audiences,” said Henault. “This year’s Playoffs campaign leans into some of the season’s top stories. Will the Denver Nuggets make it to the Finals for the second time? Can Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to Playoffs glory? We wanted to harness the excitement behind the different narratives gripping the league this time of year.”
