The              Campaign

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Directed by
Jimmy Derner
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IF IT CAN HAPPEN HERE, IT CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE

The Brand
NBA Store & Fanatics
Our Job
Turn one city's win into every fan's reason to believe
Deliverables
Research & strategy
Ideation / concepting
Video Production
Photography
Editorial
Graphics
VFX
Original Score
Sound Design & Mix
Color
Credits
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OVERVIEW

Fifty-three years is a long time to keep believing in something. And then, one night in June, New York got it back. The trophy was the proof. Proof for every Knicks fan who'd been wearing the jersey since before it was worth wearing. Proof that showing up early is the whole point. Because hope doesn't start with a 29-point comeback. It starts at 0–0. It starts on Game 1, when nothing's been won and everything's still possible. It starts with a kid who's been first at a parade seven months before there's a parade to be first at. That's the same story in Milwaukee or Sacramento, just as it is in New York. Everywhere somebody is choosing to believe before they've been given a reason to. New York is simply where it just happened. Which makes it the most useful place on earth to say the thing we want to say.

the approach

We start with one fan and one team. then we let everyone else in.

World-building takes specifics, and not every reality is worth opposing. Advertising likes to cover every base, and that is exactly what makes it forgettable. We stayed with a single kid, a single team and a single hope, and trusted that the more specific the story got, the more people would see themselves in it.

So the film opens in New York. Then it opens up. By the end, the rest of the league is in the frame, along with every fan who has ever bet on a turnaround.

the Tone

A campaign fluent in the language of basketball, told from the one city that just proved the point.

Wholesome but not cheesy. With a subtle intensity that never feels chaotic, but has an electricity and fighting spirit, without any hint of malice.

It should feel like an unfolding moment in history. A piece of a real thing, caught while it was happening.
Euphoric.
uplifting.
hopeful.

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Photography by
Ryan Fields
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visual story

Across a considered series of mockups and applications, we’re able to show how the campaign language works in the real world, from the bold typography and hand-drawn graphics to the photography and supporting brand assets. Created as a visual case study for the Wolfpack Films website, this is the director’s cut of the project — a curated collection of the work produced around the advert, giving the campaign space to breathe and celebrating all the details that helped shape the final piece.

Close

Belief is the only thing in sports you can have before you've earned it.

Our kid was believing before a ball had been bounced. The trophy just told him he'd been right.

That's what makes this a New York story that isn't only for New York. Every fan base is somewhere in that same room right now, deciding whether to believe before they've been given a reason to. This film says. “Go on, then”. Put it on early.

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Fanatics

Jamie Gersch - Chief Marketing Officer
Adam Lock - VP, Creative
Cam Scott - Head of Brand
Peter Kim - Sr Director Brand Op
Anthony Mejia - Creative Director
Max Sorensen - Sr. eCommerce Manager
Dani Gibson Rawlins - Director of Integrated Marketing

Wolfpack

DIRECTOR & EDITOR: Jimmy Derner @jimmyderner

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Anna Grizz
PRODUCER: Eric Cook
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR: CK Andalon
ASSISTANT PRODUCTION SUP: Jennifer Urbanowski
Production Company: @bywolfpack

Casting Director: Gibson Collins

TALENT:
OCP Young Hero & VO: Sawyer Hawthorne
OCP Hero's Friend Background: Devon Langford Jr
OCP Hero's Friend Background: Carson Washington
OCP Basketball Player: Carnegie Johnson
OCP Basketball Player: Jordan Hue
OCP Basketball Player: Orion Mickens
OCP Basketball Player: Harry Adam
OCP Basketball Player: Cole Paar
OCP Basketball Player: Glenn Sanabria
OCP Basketball Player: Evan Boon
OCP Basketball Player: Wahaad Johnson
OCP Basketball Player: Brawley Chisholm
OCP Basketball Player: Abrar Ghazy
OCP Court Support: Noriko Sato
OCP Court Support: Matthew James Herman
OCP Court Support: Chris Connolly
OCP Court Support: A. Angeles
OCP Poster Guy: AU Hogan
OCP Bullhorn: Vinny Gomez

Background: Celine Holde, Honor Glisson, Austin Holmes, Matilda Paone, Lucas Petryk, Elliot Thomas, Marlina Cooks, Arsenio James, Luke Studley, Tito Joao, Isacha Robinson, Shruti Kumar, Johanna Malary, Tyler Hawkins, Thea Henry, Yamfede Triunfel Ortiz, Grayson Gwaze, Sandeep Hasrajani, Charles Huang, Cecilia Gomes, Mario Almonte, Gary Candelario.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Tom Marchese
1ST AC: Mo Shane
2ND AC: Veronica Lupo
STEADICAM: Calvin Falk
MEDIA MANAGER: Allie Lacono

GAFFER: Olivier Metzler
GAFFER / SCOUT: Luke Humplett
BEST ELECTRIC: Ben Hartzell
ELECTRIC: Sarah Leriche

KEY GRIP: Chris Violette
BEST BOY GRIP / KG SCOUT: Jack Owen
GRIP / DOLLY GRIP: Nijel Hibbert
SWING (per Lighthouse): Matt Lundy

1ST AD: Kenton Cummings
2ND AD: Nia Roe
2ND 2ND AD: Angel Guerrero
PA - KEY: David Ward
PA - Truck: Mike Spivey
PA - Truck: John Maddock
AD PA: Sage (Joel) Grean
AD PA: Yel Rennalls
PA: Alina Yen
PA: Pedro Gomez
PA: Jayson James
PA: Tyriek Overton

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Alison Melillo
ART DIRECTOR: Izabela Wszolek
SET DRESSER: Cyrus Howlett
SET DRESSER: Kevin Murphy
SET DRESSER / DRIVER: Mark Segur
ART PA: Mike Hurowitz
ART PA: Eddie Claudon
SCENIC: Ona Catchcart-Smith
FX: Eric Concha

MAKE UP ARTIST: Celia Espinal
MAKE UP ASST: Laura Pedroza
HAIR STYLIST: Jessica Cinque
HAIR ASST: Britney Espinal

STYLIST: Ntombi Moyo
ASST STYLIST (FITTING/SHOOT): Rona Zibari
ASST STYLIST (SHOOT): Jahise Lebouef
ASST STYLIST (PREP/WRAP): Dineo Stanley

VTR / REMOTE MONITORING: Joe Dwonszyk
PRODUCTION SOUND MIXER: Richard Cardone

CRAFT SERVICE: Derek Willis
MEDIC: Ben Franqui

PHOTOGRAPHER: Ryan Fields
ASST PHOTOGRAPHER: Bo McKinley
BTS: Phil Nasralla

CAMERA: Arri Rentals

VFX: Vinyl Creative

Post Producer: Mihaly Diosy
Post Coordinator: Daniel Papp
Art Director: Levente Mezo
Motion Designer: Kajcsa Daniel, Andras Horvath
VFX: Toth Horgosi Gergely, Mihaly Horvath

Composer: Belinda Huang
Sound Design, mix, and master: Colton Jackson
Graphics: Josh Saunders, Anne Reed

Color Company: Company3
Colorist: Matthew Osborne
Producer: Shannen Troup

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