Titled “Newspaper,” this spot finds NBA star Blake Griffin “in the zone,” that place where athletes perform at a higher, unstoppable level. It’s so routine for Griffin, though, that he’s reading the newspaper, chilling out in a dream-like setting as he prepares to dunk the basketball over helpless defenders.

When an average guy enters the picture, he’s not used to being in the zone. Griffin is there to help him along in that special stratosphere. And our average Joe got to the zone via the 2016 Kia Optima which is known for its superior next-level performance.

Craig Gillespie of MJZ directed this humorous spot for agency David&Goliath.

Credits

Client Kia Agency David&Goliath David Angelo, founder/chairman; Colin Jeffery, chief creative officer; John O’Hea, Brandon Davis, creative directors; Marc Wilson, Allen Yu, art directors; Ree Nguyen, Patrick Que, copywriters; Mike Geiger, chief digital officer; Robert Boucher, director of digital technology; Paul Albanese, director of broadcast production; Curt O’Brien, executive producer; Brandon Kusher, sr. broadcast producer; Andrea Mariash, director of art production; Mia Campbell, jr. art producer; Kemit Ray, Genie Lara, project managers. Production MJZ Craig Gillespie, director; Emma Wilcockson, exec producer; Martha Davis, producer.  Chris Hornbecker, content photographer/videographer. Editorial Spinach Editorial Isaac Chen, Benjamin McCambridge, Brandon Porter (all courtesy of Cut+Run); Adam Bright, managing director; Jonathan Carpio, producer. Visual Effects Eight VFX Jean-Marc Demmer, Philip Ineno, VFX supervisors; Damien Bataille, 3D lead; Shira Boardman, Baptiste Andrieux, exec producers; Ian Dawson, producer. (Toolbox: Flame, Nuke, Maya, Houdini) Music/Sound MassiveMusic Scott Cymbala, exec producer; Jessica Entner, head of production; Tim Adams, creative director; Ben Einziger, sr. composer/head of business development.

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