Taking the iconic video of Marvin Gaye singing the National Anthem at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game, Nike has recently released a new commercial/featurette splicing together clips of LeBron James, Kobe, J-Kidd and the rest of the American team with footage of Marvin from the All-Star Game. I remember being emailed the YouTube link of Marvin singing the National Anthem a few years ago and today it’s the most popular video on the site for the artist (over 1 million views).
In a press release from Nike, they explained their reason for choosing this unique version of the song attributing it to a move by the couch of our Olympic Basketball Team, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.
Coach K took a moment out of practice to share a version of the song with his players that, in its own right, made sports history…
To show support for the men that will represent us in Beijing, Nike Basketball brings Marvin, LeBron, Kobe, J-Kidd and the rest of the team together to pay homage to basketball, America’s game.
Nathan Goldberg and Shannon McGlothin were the Copywriter/Art Director team responsible for this idea for Wieden + Kennedy. Stacy Wall directed for Epoch Films along with Lisa Gunning editing for The Whitehouse (Justin Beere was the Assistant Editor). Jeff Payne from Eleven Sound mixed Marvin’s audio along with Gus Koven from Stimmung as the Sound Designer.
