In this new Foot Locker spot, Russell Westbrook and Jordan Brand team up to poke a little fun at all the high-octane commercials that predominate the market. Athlete’s commercials — specifically NBA athletes — all feature the same scenes and Westbrook mentions them all when the adolescent protagonist says he’s “Ready to fly.”
The spot opens with Westbrook spotting a young man wearing the AJ XX9s. After the kid says he’s ready to fly, Westbrook puts him through a few of the various commercial cliches we’ve seen in the past:
Gross breakfast — with an homage to Rocky‘s egg-heavy diet
Epic theme music
Running in an abandoned part of town
Working on your shot in a dramatically lit gym
The contact drill scene
Cliched tire-flipping scene
Exercise in an unnecessarily hot room
Close-up with sweat dripping off your nose…
The list could go on, but it’s basically this LeBron James commercial.
The conceit works because you can sort of imagine Russ making fun of the commercials that employ these well-worn scenes. Smart decision by Foot Locker and Jordan to use a polarizing player like Westbrook as the star.
What do you think?
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