Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley are the focus of a new NBA marketing campaign on TNT.
New ads for the upcoming NBA season on TNT will feature players reacting to what the TNT NBA studio team of Johnson, Smith and Barkley says on Inside the NBA. The ads “[include] Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Steve Nash“, with more players to follow as the season progresses. Other ads will focus on Ernie, Kenny and Charles recounting famous NBA moments.
It is rare for a network to have announcers be the focus of an ad campaign for a sporting event. More rare is a broadcasting trio as popular as Ernie, Kenny and Charles. “The differentiator in our NBA coverage is our on-air talent,” says Craig Barry of Turner Sports, “So we wanted [Johnson, Smith and Barkley] to have a voice.”
While TNT focuses on its studio team, ESPN hopes to add some of the humor associated with the network’s This is SportsCenter ads. The new ESPN NBA ad campaign features broadcasters and players on a road trip in an RV.
One ad features new Celtics teammates Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen critiquing Hoosiers, while others feature Gilbert Arenas using an Etch A Sketch and Stephen A. Smith “ranting about the comparative strengths of the Eastern and Western Conferences” after Carmelo Anthony asks him for directions.
Each ad finishes with the message: “ESPN. Your NBA destination for games on Wednesday and Friday.” While ESPN may have a hard time attracting viewers early in the season — especially with the network’s season opening double-header airing opposite a potential Rockies/Red Sox Game 6 — “Your NBA Destination” is far better, and far less easy to mock, than last year’s confusing “Will You Be Watching When?” campaign.
