Allen Iverson Pitches Bleacher Report as Sports Culture, Not Just Scores in First National Spot

Sports media has reached a turning point. Today, Bleacher Report celebrated its 10th anniversary as ESPN announced a round of layoffs that will affect an estimated 100 staffers. What sets B/R apart as so many of its competitors falter? According to founder and CEO Dave Finocchio, it's all about the culture. "We built up a big audience over the past 10 years," Finocchio said, "And we made a strategic decision that our brand is really our most important asset. It's a commitment to our manifest destiny: we're in the business of disrupting sports culture." Earlier this year, Bleacher Report turned to creative agency of record Johannes Leonardo in an effort to take that message to the masses with its first national ad campaign. The site describes its anthem spot "Up Your Game" as "a direct challenge to one-dimensional fandom," re-emphasizing that culture is the key to reaching young devotees who want more than just the scores. Allen Iverson and other stars help make that point in an ad overflowing with blink-and-you'll-miss-it Easter eggs. [kickout id="1"] "We peppered in lots of different references," said Johannes Leonardo associate creative director Omid Amidi, who calls the opening scene's burning newspaper a reference to "dying media coverage of sports." The headline on that paper reads "Maybe the Earth Is Flat After All," poking light fun at Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving's recent statements on that and other alleged conspiracy theories. One of the first characters to appear in the spot is Jaylon Sewell, a high school student who was recently suspended for wearing a "distracting" hairstyle inspired by that of New York Giants star Odell Beckham, Jr. And the eggs keep coming: Most basketball fans will know that "cupcake" alludes to a highly publicized beef between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who referenced a former Thunder teammate's use of the word to describe players he thought were "acting a little soft." And the Iverson press conference scene recreates the star's highly spoofed "rant" at the end of the 2001-2002 season. "Sports fandom these days is a much broader thing in the sense that kids are so aware of these guys—they follow their heroes online and know what they wear, what they listen to and what they did last night," said Johannes Leonardo co-founder Jan Jacobs in explaining the key insight behind the campaign. Amidi added, "[Bleacher Report] is not only sports coverage; it's coverage of everything around sports." The campaign accompanies a site redesign and new logo created by Bleacher Report's in-house marketing team, which will collaborate with Johannes Leonardo moving forward. "A lot of us grew up in a generation where [Allen Iverson] mattered so much," said Finocchio in explaining why the former star made an ideal brand advocate. "It's fitting that he could represent an important part of what sports culture can be and what it can mean to people." Finocchio said that the campaign is primarily a celebration of his company's success over the past decade, adding that Bleacher Report no longer sees "traditional sports media brands" as its chief competitors. Regarding the decision to go with Johannes Leonardo, he explained, "They just really got us ... we're here to push culture forward." While the specifics of future campaigns have yet to be determined, Finocchio hinted that they will focus on individual sports cultures, calling today's launch "the beginning of a sustained marketing effort." [kickout id="2"] CREDITS Client: Bleacher Report Agency: Johannes Leonardo Campaign: "Up Your Game" Bleacher Report VP, Marketing: Lisel Welden Sr. Manager, Brand Marketing: Will Leivenberg Sr. Manager, Partnerships: Max Rausch Sr. Director of Business Development: Michelene Loomer President: Rory Brown VP of Programming: Bennett Spector Creative Director: Ryan Smith Sr. Director, Branded Content: Beckley Mason Head of B/R Entertainment: Neil Punsalan Johannes Leonardo President: Bryan Yasko Founders & CCOs: Jan Jacobs & Leo Premutico Creative Director: Mike Blanch Associate Creative Director: Omid Amidi Sr. Copywriter: Maclean Jackson Sr. Art Director: Micaela Gallino Sr. Designer: April Pascua Head of Integrated Production: Dana May Sr. Integrated Producer: Shami LaCourt Director of Business Affairs: Marta Stajek Head of Account Management: Emily Wilcox Account Supervisor: Adam Rubin Head of Strategy: Mark Aronson Strategist: Ben Breier Celebrity stars: Shameik Moore, Allen Iverson, Marquette King, Benjamin Kickz Production company: MJZ Films Director: Fredrik Bond Director of Photography: Ryley Brown Executive Producer: Kate Leahy Producer: Line Postmry Producer: Shelley Urick-Scillone Production Supervisor: Beth Schiffman Editorial: Whitehouse Post Editor (Lead): Patric Ryan Assistant Editor: Brad Dupuie Assistant Editor: Clay Doggett Executive Producer: Caitlin Grady Senior Producer: Marcia Wigley Visual effects: The Mill VFX Supervisor, 2D Lead: Martin Karlsson 2D Compositors: Becky Porter, Kelsey Napier, Dag Ivarsoy, Daniel Thuresson, Alex Candlish, Tara DeMarco, Matthew Dobrez, Anne Trotman 3D Lead Artist: David Lawson, Tom Graham 3D Artists: Phil Mayer, Chris Goodrich, Daniel Stern, Chase Webb, Matt Longwell, Freddy Parra, Steven Olson, Michael Lori Motion Graphics: Laura Nash Executive Producer: Leighton Greer Producers: Alex Bader, Sumer Zuberi Production Coordinator: Jalisa House Shoot Supervisors: Martin Karlsson, David Lawson Colorist: Adam Scott Executive Producer: Thatcher Peterson Producer: Diane Valera Production Coordinator: Robert Cohen Original music and sound design: Q Department Executive Producer: Zack Rice Producer - Guin Frehling Sound mix: Sonic Union Sound Engineer: Steve Rosen Executive Producer: Justine Cortale Producer: Patrick Sullivan Production and post-production Videographer (Los Angeles): Jake Uris Videographer (Charlotte): Julian Bernstein Photographer (Los Angeles): Jake Michaels Photographer (Charlotte): Craig LaCourt Special thanks: Turner Media Director: Katie Morrow Digital Cross Promotions Manager: Jori Palmer Sr. Counsel: Matt Cash Sr. Counsel: Kevin Glidewell Corporate Legal Manager: Gail Oja CMO: Val Immele