Watch: Jordan's first China ad plays winning game in reverse

Client: Jordan Brand

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy

Market: China

Name of campaign: 'The winning moment'

Scope: Online, print

Details: As part of a global campaign called “We are Jordan”, which aims to inspire all basketball players to unleash their inner Michael Jordan, the brand's China agency, W+K Shanghai, has zoomed in on the inner strength of an athlete by telling the classic story of two rival teams clashing at the finals—in reverse.

The film starts with the aftermath of a winning moment, where we see pieces of confetti in the winning team’s colours lifting in slow motion from the ground, followed by a tear rolling back into an opponent's eye, then the point guard's winning shot. Scene by scene, the audience is taken back in time to uncover what led to the win.

Quote: Azsa West, creative director at W+K Shanghai:

This is no ordinary basketball commercial. It doesn’t celebrate that you won the game or ended on a classic dunk. It celebrates what you did to get there, and it all began before you stepped on the court. Compared to kids in the States, Chinese kids are little bit shy. I think this film will encourage them to have the determination and courage to win.

That was not the game-winning shot. That was not the game-winning block. The game wasn't won with flash. It wasn't the crowd, or superstition either. It wasn't coach's halftime pep talk. It wasn't hustle. It wasn't preparation. It wasn't school pride. It wasn't practice alone. It wasn't even because of me. It was this moment.

That moment was in the locker room, when the point guard won the game in his mind, by simply deciding to win. Mindfulness-based sportsmanship, we like it.

CREDITS

Agency: W+K SH
Executive creative director: Yang Yeo
Creative directors: Terence Leong / Azsa West
Copywriters: Jimmy Chen / Shaun Sundholm
Art director: Shaun Sundholm
Executive producer: Angie Wong
Assistant producer: Fang Yuan
Designers: Timothy Cheng/Kevin Lunsong
Print production: Vic Zhang/Robin Liu
Retoucher: Changqing Lee
Agency editor: Hiro Ikematsu
Planners: Leon Lin/Paula Bloodsworth
Business director: Dino Xu
Account manager: Chuck Xu
Account executive: Sasa Yang
Project manager: Nicole Bee
Business affairs: Jessica Deng/Kathy Zhan