Russell Westbrook to Advertise Champs Sports & Jordan Brand

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook has agreed to appear in a advertising campaign with Champs Sports and the Jordan brand.

The 30-second television commercial serves as the centerpiece for the campaign. It centers on a high school basketball player picking up the latest Jordan brand gear at a Champs Sports store. Once he dons fresh apparel featuring the iconic Jumpman logo, the teen looks into a mirror and sees Westbrook staring back. Through several fast-paced sequences that follow, the player morphs into Westbrook while driving to the basket in practice, leading his basketball team in a pre-game ritual and hoisting a state championship banner in front of hundreds of applauding classmates. At the end, the player spots Westbrook roaming the halls of his school and gives him a nod as a show of respect.

The spot will debut online through digital media placements appearing on the sites of key sports and lifestyle media partners beginning May 15. It will begin airing in cinema May 17 and on network and cable TV broadcasts, including the NBA Conference Finals, starting May 20.

“Champs Sports is an unrivaled destination for Jordan brand product. And we’re extremely excited to be working on this campaign with Russell, who really personifies on-court and off-court Game,” said Frank Bracken, vice president of marketing, Champs Sports. “We think this program will really connect with our consumer because of the great product that’s featured, the vivid color stories, and the clever use of Russell in the creative. And our ability to tell this campaign story through TV, cinema, digital and social media means we can surround the consumer with our story in the most relevant media places this summer.”

The lead agency for the campaign is Zambezi. The commercial was produced by Mothership and Digital Domain and was filmed at Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City on April 2. Rapper T.I.’s “Go Get It” serves as the commercial’s soundtrack.