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In the NBA, superstar players must walk a fine line. It\u2019s OK to project confidence in your abilities, but excessive bombast and arrogance can be frowned upon by commentators and fans alike.<\/p>\n
Jason Campbell, chief creative officer of the agency Translation, which has produced numerous campaigns for the NBA in recent years, aimed to capture that dynamic in the agency\u2019s new campaign promoting the NBA Playoffs, which kicked off last week, called \u201cPlayoff Mode. It\u2019s a Thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe kind of dug into the truth of what happens in the playoffs, which is that players take it up one notch, but they can\u2019t<\/a> say that they take it up one notch,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to jinx themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n The campaign, which is scheduled to run throughout the playoffs, will span about 400 pieces of content, Campbell said, spread across linear TV, digital, and social, as well as out-of-home placements in more than 10 US cities.<\/p>\n It\u2019s anchored by a one-minute clip featuring NBA stars including Jayson Tatum, Nikola Joki\u0107, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Each player denies that \u201cplayoff mode\u201d is a thing, to the bemusement of comedian Chris Rock, who narrates the spot.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clearly<\/em> a thing,\u201d Rock says as the clip ends.<\/p>\n