Miami Heat forward LeBron James gestures against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter of their NBA basketball game in Boston, October 26, 2010.
ADAM HUNGER/REUTERS
Debra Black
Staff Reporter
“What should I do?” asks a sombre LeBron James in his new Nike TV ad, which has drawn more than 2 million views on YouTube.
The ad is designed to improve his public image after his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat in this off season has left him perhaps the most reviled man in basketball.
James joined forces with superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami in an attempt to win a championship, something that eluded him when he played for Cleveland.
James’s Nike ad is the latest example of a new trend called “confessional advertising” – commercials designed to do damage control.
Throughout the Nike commercial, James repeats the question: “What should I do?” like a muscle-bound Hamlet pondering the state of his existence.
He even parodies a Charles Barkley ad for Nike done in 1993 when Barkley famously stated he was not a role model.
But the highlight for some is when James teams up with former Miami Vice star Don Johnson. James asks viewers: “Should I try acting?”
Then, the commercial cuts to a shot of Johnson, dressed in his trademark white jacket and T-shirt, with James dressed all in pink and looking very 1980s, complete with aviator glasses hanging off his jacket pocket.
Johnson responds: “He’s got to deal with the heat, man. Be patient. After a while, the temperature drops and everything is free and easy.”
James: “Should I be writing this down.”
Johnson: “Uh-huh.”
Nike is not reticent about pushing the envelope and creating a water-cooler ad, says Jason Maloni, senior vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Levick Strategic Communications, which specializes in crisis matters or threats to brands of companies or individuals.
Maloni, who is in charge of the sports and entertainment practice, spoke to the Star Thursday.
And while the ad will likely be much talked about around the water-cooler, it probably won’t do much to improve James’s image or sell more basketball shoes, said Maloni.
“The ad is the frosting, not the cake. If an athlete’s not performing, it doesn’t matter.”
Fans will eventually get over what they think of as a “betrayal” by James, just like Green Bay fans were upset with Brett Favre or Manchester United supporters were angry when David Beckham left, Maloni said.
“I think because his popularity is so great and his brand is so strong, he’s going to overcome the concerns about his move from Cleveland and the hard feelings of how he handled his announcement.”
This isn’t the first time Nike has made what Maloni describes as a “confessional” ad, pointing to the now “creepy” ad commercial done by Tiger Woods after his fall from grace.
Maloni doesn’t like these kinds of ads or the idea of a company like Nike stepping in to try to shape the public’s off-field and off-court perception of an athlete.
“Lebron’s future will include many more ads that will be just as creative and intriguing,” Maloni, who is in charge of Levick’s sports and entertainment practice, told the Star on Thursday.
“I don’t think the hangover from this will last long. I just get a queasy feeling when these ads address off-court or off-field issues. . . I get a queasy feeling when Nike starts telling me what I should think about other than statistics, scores and rivalries.
“I hope Nike understands and gets back to ads like Michael Jordan jumping around five defenders and jamming the ball.
“I hope the confessional ad isn’t long for this world,” he said.
What’s next? he mused. Lindsay Lohan advertising perfume and talking about her time in rehab?
