LeBron We Dare You
Issue 19 | June 2011
Agency
Leo Burnett Chicago
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director: Kent Middleton; Creative Director: Patrick Rynell; Art Director: Alan Nuzum, Wallis Osborn, Bill Hatzinger; Copywriter: George Apfelbach, Patrick Rynell
Other Credits
Account Concept: Dave Kuta, Michael Girts
Date
June 2010
Background
In 2010 basketball star LeBron James became the most sought-after free agent in
the history of sport.
Every major basketball team in the USA attempted to get him to sign. They offered him the opportunity to become a global icon, a billion-dollar brand in his own right.
What a couple of committed Chicago Bulls fans did was not to be so sycophantic but to challenge the sportsman’s ambitions.
Idea
They took the challenge to his doorstep, sending him a pair of original Air Jordans
Asking, “Do you dare fill these shoes?”
Was LeBron James able to measure up to Michael Jordan? Could he equal and even beat the record of the legendary Chicago Bull?
He was also mailed a box with space for seven championship rings, which is how many Michael Jordan won.
Finally, a spread was taken out in LeBron’s local newspaper to show him what a sports page in the Chicago Tribune might look like in 2020, if he had the bottle to join the Bulls.
Results
The story was covered on the nightly news, countless sport’s blogs and ESPN’s
Spotscenter – twice. LeBron decided to go to Miami. But to a million Chicagoans and to every dedicated Bulls fan, he had answered the question.
Our Thoughts
So, is LeBron James the equal of Michael Jordan? No. So the legend of Jordan grows and the Bulls brand puffs out its chest another couple of inches.
Not the least interesting thing about this is how mailing just one person can still be a way of reaching hundreds of thousands, even millions, if you have a head for PR.
What’s also interesting is that this idea was created not by the brand’s managers but by fans. True, they happened to work at Leo Burnett in Chicago and had the skills to use media to try to boost their team. But the Glazers, owners of Manchester United and of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, might like to note that brand loyalty has a value beyond shirt sales and season tickets.
Lastly, this concept was the brainchild of an account man, Michael Girts. Good on you, Michael. Proof, then, that creativity is not the sole preserve of those labeled ‘creative’.