Every summer, Monta Ellis, point guard and shooting guard for Oakland’s Golden State Warriors, joins more than 300 of his relatives in Jackson, Miss., for a family reunion. This year 72andSunny documented the event for a new campaign promoting basketball apparel company AND 1 called “Who is Monta Ellis,” which debuted online at www.and1.com/monta before running nationally on ESPN2. This season, Ellis will be wearing customized versions of the “Wonder” and “Unmistakable Mids” shoes on the court. Unlike typical slick sports advertising campaigns, the 13 ads are shot documentary style by Michael Kuhn of Greenpoint Pictures, Brooklyn, N.Y.
“AND 1 is a brand from the streets, and AND 1 athletes tend to stay connected to those roots even when they achieve fame or when they are on the brink of a breakout year. Having access to Monta’s inner circle for so long and in such an intimate way was an obvious opportunity to connect those dots,” said Glenn Cole, co-founder/creative director, 72andSunny. “Plus, in this era of polished superstars with carefully manicured images, there’s something magnetic about a brand and a player who are not only unafraid to let you look behind the curtain but are enthusiastic about it. So there’s another answer to ‘Who is Monta Ellis?'”
In one spot Ellis humbly shows off trophies for other school sports he excelled in, including soccer and tennis; another has his friends and family reliving his legendary 72-point game in high school. Other ads paint an intimate portrait of the athlete and his relatives, such as Aunt Stacy, who cooks his favorite dishes.
“We approached this idea through a documentary lens because the real story of a small town kid from Mississippi who went from being the last player ever drafted from high school to the NBA and then helping the Warriors into the post season and winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award a year later was good enough on its own. This was a case when fact was better than fiction,” explained Jeff Beberman, art director/copywriter.
Beberman explained that they tapped Kuhn because he specialized in capturing real, honest moments and he has been working with AND 1 for years on the Mixtape Tour. AND 1 sponsors the Mixtape Tour, a traveling basketball competition and exhibition featuring a group of well known streetball players. They travel from town to town and challenge teams composed of local talent. After each game, the local talent who gave the best performance is offered a position on the AND 1 team.
“Mike’s experience with basketball players coupled with the honesty of his films was what made him right for this job,” Beberman said. Sam Baerwald, executive producer for 72andSunny, added that Kuhn and DP Niles Roth could be “very nimble running around with two HD cameras.” The duo shot with a pair of HD Panasonic HVX 200s.
Baerwald pointed out that one of the challenges during shooting was making sure not to take away from the activities the family had planned for the reunion. “We wanted to be as fly on the wall as possible,” he said.
Added Beberman, “Whenever you’re shooting documentary style film you’ve got to be constantly aware of your questions and answers. You can prep the job with as much research as you can do, but ultimately you’ve got to react to the situation. And then there are the Mississippi accents. There’s no prepping for that.”
In terms of preparation, 72andSunny and Kuhn spent one day getting to know the Ellis family and three full days shooting. “Just being around Monta and his family was so rewarding,” Baerwald said.
“They took such good care of us, and really went way beyond any expectation as far as hospitality. Monta and his family are all so nice, and such good-hearted people. It was amazing to feel the warmth and goodness surrounding the Ellis family.”
He added that it was also nice to shoot a campaign in such a guerrilla way. “Two HD cameras, Final Cut Pro and a few knuckle-heads and you can cook up some good things.”
Director Hans Emanuel Joins Caviar For Commercials and Music Videos
Production company Caviar has signed director Hans Emanuel for U.S. commercial and music video representation. The film and advertising director fuses his keen--and Berlinale Film Festival Award-winning--eye for cinematic storytelling with a commercial background across multiple genres including beauty, automotive, dance, and visual effects-heavy projects, to produce creative for clients like Kia, Nivea, Nissan, L’Oreal, BMW and more.
Caviar executive producer Salim El Arja noted, “Hans has a unique ability to blend stunning visuals with heart and humor, rooted in his confidence as a craftsman. This allows him to focus on drawing exceptional performances from actors--including celebrities--and crafting films that are not only visually striking but also deeply engaging and often hilariously comedic. His sensibilities align perfectly with Caviar’s vision, and we’re excited to collaborate with him on work that pushes creative boundaries.”
Emanuel added, “Caviar is a renowned name, certainly since I began my career. They have a solid reputation for quality work, and I’ve always respected them as a company. Life is about where destiny makes you flow with the people you need; thanks to a series of projects, I was introduced to Florence Jacob with Caviar Paris first, and the rest is history. I feel they can support my career growth with their comedic expertise and filmmaking prowess.”
Prior to joining Caviar, Emanuel had been repped by production house Stadium. He was born and raised in Santa Monica, Calif., to a Mexican-German mother, benefiting from a culturally diversified upbringing that carried through his education interests. Knowing he wanted to be a filmmaker from the start, he began his career in the luxury and beauty field,... Read More