The NBA’s postseason campaign pokes fun at its star players’ modesty

In the NBA, superstar players must walk a fine line. It’s OK to project confidence in your abilities, but excessive bombast and arrogance can be frowned upon by commentators and fans alike.

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’s new campaign promoting the NBA Playoffs, which kicked off last week, called “Playoff Mode. It’s a Thing.”

“We kind of dug into the truth of what happens in the playoffs, which is that players take it up one notch, but they can’t say that they take it up one notch,” Campbell said. “They don’t want to jinx themselves.”

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.

It’s anchored by a one-minute clip featuring NBA stars including Jayson Tatum, Nikola Jokić, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Each player denies that “playoff mode” is a thing, to the bemusement of comedian Chris Rock, who narrates the spot.

“It’s clearly a thing,” Rock says as the clip ends.

Campbell said Rock fit the mold for what Translation was looking for in a narrator.

“This one was a little bit in jest, it wasn’t heavy, it wasn’t serious, it was a little bit of lightheartedness,” he said. “We thought the perfect person who could poke at this thing in a comedic, but serious way, was Chris Rock,” Campbell said.

The campaign also includes several celebrity basketball fans, like rapper Lil Wayne and celebrity chef Guy Fieri. Shaquille O’Neal, the Hall of Fame center who has found a second career as a broadcaster on TNT, is also featured.

The campaign represents the continuation of a long-term relationship between Translation and the NBA, and Janine Dugre, SVP of brand and creative management at the NBA, said the agency brings a “unique lens to storytelling.”

“We know our brand better than anybody will know our brand. We know our stories better than anyone will know our stories,” Dugre said. “To partner with an agency who has a real gift at storytelling in unique and different ways, always seems like a really good match.”

As the postseason continues and more storylines emerge, content for the campaign will continue to roll out –and Translation will look to capture the excitement of NBA fans.

“We’re privileged to have this opportunity with an incredible time of year that really taps into emotions on so many sides,” Dugre said. “This is must-see basketball.”