Playing on pro basketball stereotypes, creatives at TEQUILA, Los Angeles (the interactive division of TBWA/Chiat/Day), developed DontBeTheNext.com for client Sony Computer Entertainment America’s PlayStation 2 game NBA 06 featuring “The Life Vol. 1.” According to copywriter Jason Rappaport, the special game feature allows a player to engage in a career mode where he moves through a regular season storyline and makes decisions about things that arise in a player’s first year. The humorous Web site contains profiles of the fictional characters Billy Joe Cuthbert, Jason “Sweet Money” McDaniels and Sergei Vogavich–each of whom made it into the NBA but didn’t stay for long.
Though television spots–“Billy Joe Cuthbert,” “Sweet Money,” and “Sergei Vogavich”–touched on the lives of these players (and are included on the site), Rappaport knew there was more to tell. “We felt like they had so much more story behind each character that you can only really finish the job on the Web, the place where you can actually interact with the stuff,” he said. The spots, through TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles, and directed by Hank Perlman of bicoastal/international Hungry Man, as well as print and banner ads include the URL to drive traffic to the site.
BLURRING LINES BETWEEN REALITY & FICTION
DontBeTheNext.com links visitors to the player’s individual pages where they can view stats and watch video featuring commentary from the athletes as well as P.J. Carlesimo, who is on the San Antonio Spurs’ coaching staff, and cover athlete for the video game Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns.
On Billy Joe’s page we see that he played for the Utah Jazz during the 1989-’91 seasons and was “known for diving for loose balls, taking charges and fouling out.” Now, he aspires to play on a professional team in Europe or Latin America. In video clips below his stats he reminisces about life in the NBA and offers tips on defense.
With his wide headband, a mullet and knee-high athletic socks, he stands out from other players on the court. In addition to his outerwear, Billy Joe’s over-the-top enthusiasm adds to his ridiculousness. He’s stuck in the ’80s era of basketball and though he hustled, he never accomplished much, Rappaport said. “He’s all heart, no game.”
“Sweet Money” is meant to represent a highly drafted college player who couldn’t make up for the fact that he can’t shoot the ball. Now he works in Corporate America. From his cubicle, he defends his performance in the NBA when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, saying, “I had good handle, great D, I could pass well, I was fast.” Coach Carlesimo has a more realistic take on “Money’s” stint in the NBA–“Jason had an awful lot of misplaced confidence in his ability to shoot the ball.”
As “Sweet Money” tries to show off his skills around the office, he misses every time. He throws a stapler past a co-worker’s head and a package right over a mail cart. The Suns’ Stoudemire notes that the rookie “couldn’t shoot the ball that well, but he loved to shoot, so we let him shoot.”
Vogavich of the Los Angeles Clippers embodies the typically drafted Eastern European player who is abnormally tall and uncoordinated, Rappaport said. Known as the “Gentle Giant” the 7’6” Vogavich left the league after his rookie season (’99-’00). Carlesimo describes him as having “great size and strength but — no touch whatsoever.”
“They all have a fatal flaw, each one of the characters has one thing wrong with his game that inhibits him from progressing in the NBA,” associate creative director Nick Davidge said. “The idea is that when you’re playing the game, make sure that you pay more attention to the details to build up your character in ‘The Life’ so that when you get to the NBA, you don’t have these fatal flaws.”
SIDELINE ACTIVITIES
Along with stats and commentary, DontBeTheNext.com features merchandise that the former players are hawking. Billy Joe has an instructional DVD The ABC’s of D along with some personal items like a one-of-kind pair of sweatbands he has worn. Billy Joe enthusiasts can also view some of his defensive tips of the week for free and send the clips to friends.
There are several paths to the online store from each player’s page. That, Rappaport said, was an attempt to make the site look like it wasn’t professionally designed. Because of the skilled designers on staff at TEQUILA, “it took an amazing amount of effort to do a site that did not look incredibly professional,” director of interactive and entertainment practice Jason Kuperman laughingly added. “…The designers kept coming back to the creative team with really great design improvements and everyone had to be like, ‘Well that’s cool, but maybe a little too cool.’ “
Billy Joe’s site also features a blog and a sound board where you can hear “the Master of Hustle” say things like, “Up in your grill,” “Rock up top” and “School is in session.” The application for these is essentially to make prank phone calls to friends, Kuperman noted, which Rappaport said he enjoys and thinks the sports-loving/ESPN-crowd will get a kick out of too. Davidge added that it is just another way of delivering comedy online.
Since “Sweet Money” is pursuing a career as a rapper, three songs from his album are featured on the site and can be sent to a friend. Of course, the CD also appears in the online store.
Sergei has an audio piece for sale too, but his is a spoken-word tape of pre-game meditations. His less-than-soothing voice is showcased in free samples on the site. He also has a cookbook of his mother’s recipes for anyone interested in his native cuisine. However, if you aren’t into boiled organ meat with cabbage, you may want to skip this offer.
The extra features like recipes and rap songs are important, interactive creative director Nathan Hackstock said, because “they’re all just things that a.) initially pull people in and b.) kind of keep them. It’s not about tricking them into staying, it’s more about being so entertaining that they’re more involved with the characters. They start feeling like the brand itself starts becoming a little more familiar to them because we’ve been engaging with them for such a long period of time.”
Indeed, there is a depth to the site that should appeal not only to visitors who appreciate the intrinsic humor of these characters, but also to video game players who are used to exploring gaming environments. “Everything [gamers] do is about going deeper and getting more involved in an experience,” Kuperman pointed out.
Additional TEQUILA credit on the Web site goes to Jerry Gentile, creative director; Brett Craig, Doug Mukai and the aforementioned Davidge, associate creative directors; Craig was also copywriter along with the aforementioned Rappaport; Joe Bui, art director; Rod Cha and David Won, producers; Ethan Wells and Rappaport, editors.
Credit at bicoastal/international Hungry Man goes to the aforementioned director Hank Perlman. Joe DeSalvo was DP. Rappaport and Davidge also shot footage for the site.
Talent includes Al Thompson as “Sweet Money,” John Mead as Cuthbert and Radu Spinghel as Vogavich.
