Tying into college basketball fever and building on its long running Visigoths campaign while stepping up its branded entertainment push, Capital One, a corporate partner for the NCAA, introduces us to The Ivan Brothers, two larger than life Viking-like characters who are recruited by fictional East Western State University’s basketball team and then take a perennially losing program into the Big Dance, a.k.a. the NCAA College Basketball Tournament.
Agency DDB Chicago not only called on the make believe Ivan Brothers but also another, this time real-world brother duo to bring their creation to life–directorial team The Hoffman Brothers (Matt and Mark) of harvest, Santa Monica.
A pair of tongue-firmly-in-cheek TV spots set the stage. “Coaches” features famous college basketball coaches–from Roy Williams to Tubby Smith, Tom Izzo and Danny Manning–praising the overpowering, scary basketball talents of The Ivan Brothers.
In “Selection Show,” CBS Sports anchor Set Davis announces West Eastern State’s bid to the NCAA Tournament–mimicking the actual Selection Sunday show. A camera shows us “live” the celebratory reaction of the East Western team and its coaching staff.
Both commercials drive us to the web (theivanbrothers.com) for the humorous yet somehow charming, authentic-feeling backstory–East Western’s track record of futility (65 consecutive losses), the coach’s offbeat recruiting trip made possible by Capital One’s Venture Card air mileage points, and the sojourn’s payoff, the discovery of The Ivan Brothers in a remote backwoods community. The coach and his assistant teach The Ivan Brothers how to play basketball, turning their raw athletic talent into on-the-court dominance.
The Ivan Brothers campaign–including the backstory short titled The Ivans–debuted around the time tournament bracketology madness began and is running into the NCAA tournament, which opened Thursday (3/18).
The campaign is already generating considerable buzz and audience. As coach (and former NCAA championship player) Manning observed in the “Coaches” spot, “It’s hard to defend guys who are used to storming castles.”
An excerpt from the short accompanies this story. Log onto theivanbrothers.com to see the entire film.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More