Pay your RE2PECT
Tomorrow night, during the MLB All-Star Game, Nike's Jordan Brand will air this 90 second commercial dedicated to Derek Jeter.
Even if you're like myself and hate the Yankees, you always had to respect Derek Jeter. If you don't, then you just don't understand baseball. Ever fan, teammate, manager and ball club wishes they had a franchise guy like on their team and who knows if we'll ever see another one. In my eyes, he has always been a man of class and I can't think of a classier salute than the act of tipping one's hat. According to an article by AdWeek, the creative idea came from Jeter’s own routine in the batter’s box. "Along with his familiar raised right hand, Jeter tugs at his batting helmet as he faces the pitcher. What if Jeter saluted his opponent — and the world saluted back thought Nike marketers." The visual play of the letter "S" as a number "2" in the word RE2PECT was also a nice touch. Erwin Federizo and Eric Helin of Weiden+Kennedy really knocked it out of the park with this concept.
I hate to pull the sexist card, but my only criticism was that there was barely any women featured in it. I don't have any stats to back it up but I'm willing to bet that Jeter has the best selling jersey among men AND women. That's got to be worth something, right?
Besides that, I loved the music, the Red Sox fans and all the featured cameos. From Spike Lee to Billy Crystal to... Action Bronson?? The hits kept coming. It's the best sports ad I've seen in a while and I'm glad it was made for someone like Jeter.
(Tipping my hat)
