A lot of you may not be aware of this, but I have been going back and forth with the top brass at Nike about directing viral commercials for them. We finally came to an agreement a couple of months ago, and they let me shoot my own Nike commercial. I know a lot of you may have seen a similar commercial on youtube, but this the real deal.
In the viral ad Kimbo is training LT in his own back yard, including a bench press with a pole and to AC units. Using the old fridge as a punching bag was a good touch to give it that real hood feel. And lastly, LT was leg pressing a small car (maybe a dodge neon). It was funny and very innovative even for Nike. In true Nike Fashion you only see the shoe for maybe three seconds. After LT was criticized so heavily in the media last year for not playing in the championship game, because of his injury, the mainstream media kept telling us how selfish, uncommitted, and cowardly he was. I think this ad pokes fun at those idiots whoe were saying LT was too hurt to play. The dude touches the ball 400+ times a year with and gets hit every play, how is he weak? Just because he was injured? I hate haters… Charger fans don’t get upset, although it looks as if he is really punching the fridge, and leg pressing the car. There is no way he was really doing that with his huge NFL contract. Let’s remember there is a concept in film called visual effects. However, Kobe did really jump over the Aston Martin…What? I saw it on youtube so it must be true.
Check out the new Nike ad below.
Just playing, I did not really shoot the Nike ad, but with the simplicity of the commercial I actually could have shot it. As I have been reading what other sites are saying about the LT Kimbo commercial, the majority of the mainstream media thinks that the ad is horrible. I love it though. On one hand you have Kimbo Slice, who has gained a cult following for busting people heads to the white meat throughout south Florida. Then you have one of the most marketable guys not just in the NFL, but in all of sports, LT. Nike Puts two guys with drastically different personas in a commercial together and it worked.
Some say the commercial is not authentic because LT is not a “hood guy”. Let’s remember that LT is from humble beginnings in Waco, Texas which is not far from where James Byrd was killed by a lynch mob and tied to the back of a truck that was driving down the street. Even if you are from Bankhead and live next door to T.I. and across the street from Shawty Lo, I bet you have never seen anyone being dragged down the street with their body tied to a pick up truck. Besides, LT will always have ’street cred’, he was the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy with a gold tooth. I am sure he was bumping UGK in his iPod on the flight back to Texas.
Nike is known for signing athletes early in their career before they become mega stars i.e. Jordan, LeBron, Darrin McFadden, Mike Vick, and now Kimbo Slice. MMA is becoming one the most watched sporting events in Amerikkka, so if Kimbo rocks Nike while in the ring, you can chalk up another victory for team Nike!
