The Cavs’ Quest to Outrun History
October 30, 2014Four months after “The Letter”, LeBron’s return becomes reality
October 30, 2014What exists above is the brand new LeBron James Nike commercial. What exists above may be the best sports-related commercial I’ve ever seen.
One team. One city. One goal. Together.
43 Comments
Holy crap. I teared up.
Never saw commercials like that in Miami!!!
That would be cool if the fans in the stadium huddled up like that before games.
This needs to be a thing!
wow.
I’m so conflicted about these commercials. Aesthetically, they are marvelous and at times emotionally rich, but they are also, ultimately, clever product placement within the mythos created by a local star. If you can mentally scrub the branding — not to mention the sultry shots of luxury headphones/$165 shoes, etc. — the films are exciting artifacts of this new hopeful era.
I’m pretty disappointed that I don’t like this commercial. I was expecting to love the new Nike spot, regardless. It’s just a little “too” heavy-handed. I like the “together” phrase, though. And the Cavs have Lebron, Kyrie and Kevin Love… so today isn’t all bad.
ALL OF THE GOOSEBUMPS, BRING THEM ALL ON!
Go ahead and judge me, but I’m a 12 year old boy again when it comes to the Cavs. I understand this is just great marketing, but I still love it. Cleveland is a proud and awesome city even without Lebron James. That being said, I personally, am excited that such a national figure how now fully committed to putting this great city back in the spotlight.
The Cavs were my first obsession. They were the only team in the city that played a game on, or around, my birthday in March. Something simple like that has put me in the minority: the Cavs are the team I’ve always dreamed of bring something special to Cleveland. Already, this has become something very special. I’ll keep drinking the kool-aid, it’s delicious.
I kinda wish all of Cleveland would be like this every day. That would be even more amazing!
Maybe I’ve been watching too much Walking Dead, but the imagery of staggering hoards was a bit post-apocalyptic đ
It’s playing on emotions I get it but the overall tone could be applied to each of ours existence. Who knows maybe it will cause people to look inward rally around the team and generate a much bigger, broader love of all. If that happens then we all win on and off the court. One second, one minute, one step, one day, one game at a time! Work starts tonight. Go Cavs.
I’m hoping to see a real homecourt advantage more then normal. I mean something like OKC X 2!
chills, yup. Tears, uh-huh.
LoL hordes of aching for a championship zombies!
So good. Great job, Nike. Agreed that it could be the best sports-related commercial I’ve ever seen.
When I saw it I was pained to admit it, since it’s Nike, but geez that ad gave me goosebumps, chills, tears…
I love this city.
Go ahead and dump on me but I’m ready for basketball, not yet another Leni Riefenstahl-inspired sales job. The greatest living athlete is back and I can’t wait to see him. But he’s back for his own reasons, not to save me in some selfless, bigger-than-entertainment holy endeavor to uplift the stinking masses.
A pitch is a pitch, whether the heroic upward-angled camera shots include just Him or Him, His teammates plus actor-fans. Just play ball, stop selling. We don’t need a swelling soundtrack. Everyone’s already on board.
LEBBBBRRRROOOOOON BRAAAAAAAAINS.
almost everyone
and, don’t worry this is a dump-free zone
https://s-media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/d5/f1/0d/d5f10d851ccfa6114e2e791f60a75960.jpg
just let yourself enjoy it.
This is the most inspirational, uniting and uplifting message I’ve heard in a long, long time in this country. While our politicians seek to divide us, it’s great to see something that brings us all together. I think Lebron is much more than a basketball player and shoe salesman. This ad stands way above what we normally endure.
Get the shoes and the head phones and it’ll all make sense…
When was this filmed? How did I not hear about downtown Cleveland being flooded with people to film a Nike commercial???
Because you don’t follow me on Twitter? The extras were all over a few weeks back.
https://twitter.com/WFNYScott/statuses/514761620036521984
I really, honestly hate – HATE – that my emotions can so easily hinge on the whims of a giant narcissist, but that video is wonderful. I think, however, that I may be allergic to it. My eyes are watering something fierce.
Can’t we do both? I’m complex like an onion: lots and lots of layers.
How about a parfait? Have you ever met a person, you say, “Let’s get some parfait,” they say, “No, I don’t like no parfait.”? Parfaits are delicious!
Parfait’s gotta be the most delicious thing on the whole planet!
http://henryherz.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/onions.jpg?w=611
GREAT, MORE ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FANS TO COME OUT ON THE COURT!
I’m curious like a cat. That’s why my friends call me Whiskers.
Man I love this place: come for the sports chatter, stay for the Leni Riefenstahl references
I called maintenance to my classroom–entirely too much dust in here
I CANT STOP WATCHING THIS…
Still doesn’t beat the Mean Joe Green commercial with the kid in the tunnel.
Wow! Just wow.
Some good messages here…but what are we doing for women of Cleveland (and of the Nation) by encouraging teams to put them out there in their underwear to “cheer” for the team. They aren’t objects, they are people. Those beautiful forms belong to the women themselves…not the Cavs organization. When the NBA puts those girls back up in the stands, cheering their hearts out with every other basket ball fan…well then I’ll know the organization is serious about building strong communities through sport.
I’ll duck as soon as I say this, but the only chills I got were douche chills.
#WeTheNorth commercial’s better
It’s a bit harder to enjoy when you realize its not just about selling shoes but about selling Lebron to a planet that dumped on him when he did the “villain” commercial. Being the “bad guy” doesn’t sell Lebron, so they’re going to make sure he’s branded as the “good guy”.
What commercial will they show after LeBron leaves in 3 years?
Yeah, because commercials shouldn’t place products in them? That is absolutely ridiculous… Who do you think pays for all this? Do you really feel that commercials should just exist to make you feel good, that would be retarded. That’s what the show you are watching may be for, but saying how you are conflicted by this…. really?!?
The question I raised is to what degree I should allow myself to be emotionally manipulated by a commercial that is ultimately designed to sell/place a product/brand. This is not “local storytelling” with any genuine connection to Cleveland, Clevelanders, or the Cavaliers; rather, it is a corporate production that leverages local imagery and symbols for cynical purpose. It is done so well that I worry most people see it as the former rather than the latter, and are thus drawn into an illusion.
Also, your use of “retarded” as a pejorative is insulting – the type of thing most people stop doing in high school. Please consider adopting more humane diction.
That is funny…. If you were to study linguistics and know that a word takes on the meaning of those that use it, the most prevalent phrasing and usage becomes the meaning of the word… and to this effect, it was meant as insulting, as to say that your comments were of a slow thinking, ignorant, and haughty nature đ So, I am happy with the word, its usage in this reply, and the adaption that it is taking to make people like you feel defensive, insecure, and needing to retaliate…. But I’m happy to take some more debate on the subject. It is not a manipulation that they are using, so long as it rings true. On a plane bound to Cleveland from Chicago on the last leg of my return from Brazil, it was amazing to see the comradery that was achieved by such a simple thing as a sports figure returning home. Where, in the row in front of me, where there were no assigned seats, a tiny, old white woman, jumped in the empty seat between two giant black men, slapping high fives, calls across rows that started about Cleveland sports and turned into conversations about the run of politics over the last twenty years, rejuvenation and development projects throughout the area. After nearly a year abroad, I stepped on this plane, with a hundred people I had never met, and because Lebron was coming back to Cleveland, these people created an atmosphere that made me feel like I had just walked in the front door to my home. Call it what you want… This commercial nailed it!
OK, that Clieveland Cliffs freighter had to be file footage.