The late, great Kobe Bryant was famous for his work ethic, and his commitment to improving every element of his game inspired athletes around the world, on and off the court. This relentless drive for improvement is celebrated in a new Nike film commemorating Mamba Mentality, “Better.”
Narrated by Kendrick Lamar, “Better” celebrates the universal relevance of progress and highlights Kobe’s prolific desire for improvement. The Mamba Mentality is about getting better, every day, in everything we do. In his own words, Kobe described his Mamba Mentality by saying, “It’s to constantly try to be the best version of yourself. It’s a constant quest to try to be better today than you were yesterday.” While incremental change may feel small in the short term, those subtle shifts culminate to greater progress over time. This relentless drive for improvement is the legacy Kobe leaves.
Kobe taught us to be better: a better teacher, a better teammate, a better loser, a better winner. As Kendrick says in the film, “Just be better.” Whatever it is that you’re trying to improve — work to be better today than you were yesterday. That’s the Mamba Mentality.
This :90 anthem film was directed by Melina Matsoukas of PRETTYBIRD for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
CreditsClient Nike Agency Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore. Alberto Ponte, Ryan O’Rourke, creative directors; Kevin Steele, copywriter; Emma Barnett, art director; Matt Hunnicutt, head of production; Jake Grand, Krystle Mortimore, executive producers; Emily Knight, producer; Jasmyn Barr, associate producer; Paula Bloodworth, group strategy director; Anthony Holton, strategist. Production PRETTYBIRD Melina Matsoukas, director; Bradford Young, DP; Ali Brown, president/exec producer; Tracy Hauser, director of production; John Winters, line producer. Editorial Spot Welders Robert Duffy, editor; JC Nunez, assistant editor; David Glean, managing partner; Carolina Padilla, exec producer. VFX a52 Kevin Stokes, Michael Vaglienty, Gretchen Capatan, John Valle, Dan Ellis, Flame artists; Andy Rafael Barrios, VFX supervisor; Drew Rissman, VFX producer; Kim Christensen, Patrick Nugent, VFX exec producers. Mix/Sound Design Joint Editorial Noah Woodburn, audio mixer; Leslie Carthy, exec producer. Music Adaptation of “Midnight Sonata” Music Supervision Walker Sara Matarazzo, sr. exec producer; Stephanie Pigott, exec producer; Danielle Soury, producer.
Top Spot of the Week: iPhone 16, Director David Shane “Write Smarter” With Apple Intelligence
Created by Apple’s in-house agency and directed by David Shane of production company O Positive, this commercial is one of two which continues the Apple Intelligence campaign for the iPhone 16.
Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that can make users look, feel and be smarter. In the case of this “Write smarter” ad, we meet an office worker who leverages Apple Intelligence on his iPhone 16 Pro to dramatically improve his barely literate email to one that is professional, concise and has a measure of eloquence--much to the surprise and amazement of his boss.
This slice of office life highlights the value of key Apple Intelligence upgrades, including Writing Tools which work wonders with the quality of how one communicates and connects with others.
Read More