If you’re a big enough basketball fan to watch the games live and sit through the ads, the leading sports betting operators are going the extra mile to get your attention during the NBA playoffs.
DraftKings has produced a bold new ad in which East Coast hip-hop royalty pays homage to NBA culture through a new song called “The Game” and a rapid-fire collection of highlights interspersed with flashing words — some of which encourage people to gamble on the games. The ad, a collaboration between the sportsbook operator, The Revival House, and a DJ named Set Free Richardson, will air during ESPN’s broadcasts of Wednesday night’s play-in games.
It’s also easy to find on the Web, of course:
Ahead of the NBA Playoffs, @DraftKings teamed up with @Iam_SetFree to release “The Game,” a basketball-themed track featuring @thelox, @RickRoss and @fatjoe. The track is a tribute to basketball and the broader hoops culture. Watch the music video here: https://t.co/mVvT6n5qsT pic.twitter.com/AbJp1hKqdq
— DraftKings News (@DraftKingsNews) April 12, 2023
For those of a certain age, it’s hard not to be reminded of the 1984 Kurtis Blow hit “Basketball” and the lyrics that now seem so dated: “I like slam dunks, taking it to the hoop. My favorite play is the alley-oop!”
It’s also worth remembering that that song, which came out in Michael Jordan’s rookie year, wasn’t made for a commercial. In fact, according to SB Nation’s oral history, it was Blow’s future wife’s idea. She told him, “You need to make a song about basketball, it’s the No. 1 sport for African-Americans and nobody has done it yet.”
NBA fans will eat up the highlight clips in “The Game” commercial, which are carefully curated and mesh with the flow of the music. The song has a driving beat and features a hypnotic description of the speed and motion of the modern game. The producers of the video did an excellent job of finding artists who will appeal to hip-hop fans young and middle-aged alike, from New York acts Fat Joe and The Lox to Miami rapper Rick Ross.
Messaging may raise eyebrows
The somewhat subliminal messaging, including flashes of “Over,” “Bet On It,” “+125,” “Longshot,” and more — at almost seizure-inducing speeds — will probably draw scrutiny in an industry increasingly under the microscope of leaders concerned about the methods operators are using to recruit new players, especially those who may not be old enough to legally bet.
“‘The Game’ is a track that taps into hoops culture on and off the court, and what it means to bet on yourself,” said DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish in a statement. “This anthem is a product of the legendary Set Free, Jadakiss, and all the amazing talent behind The Compound — a collaborative NYC space where artists and sports collide — bringing together authentic voices across music, basketball, art, and sports betting.”
It’s an interesting concept executed well, but like anything on the cutting edge in the gambling industry nowadays, it’s going to have its share of detractors.
The down-low on deepfake technology
Meanwhile, DraftKings’ biggest rival is looking to make its own splash heading into the playoffs. FanDuel has announced its “Think Like a Player” campaign with NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley that features deepfake technology.
What’s that, you ask? It’s essentially using artificial intelligence to replace the likeness of a person with another person in video or audio. In this case, Barkley is reunited with “Young Chuck,” the deepfake version of himself from his ‘90s heyday. The two Charles Barkleys discuss how to bet on your favorite players via same-game parlays, which are both wildly popular and, typically, highly unprofitable for gamblers.
The ads will go head-to-head with the DraftKings spots during the play-in games and continue to air throughout the conference finals, with the final spot launching during the NBA Finals.
The two sportsbook giants will be duking it out in the marketing space over the coming weeks, and we could all be beneficiaries of the clever content.
PGA Tour ratings soar
The PGA Tour dodged a bullet over the weekend when two LIV players both fell just short at the Masters. In the end, Spaniard Jon Rahm, the No. 1 player on tour, overcame a bounce-back effort from Brooks Koepka (who started the tournament at +4000 at DraftKings) and a fountain-of-youth performance from Phil Mickelson to win the green jacket.
Meanwhile, TV ratings continue to indicate the LIV threat is slightly overblown. We’ve already explored in this space how abysmal the ratings have been at LIV Tour events. Now, there’s increasing evidence that schedule changes on the PGA Tour are paying off with higher ratings.
According to Sports Business Journal, viewership figures are up at NBC, Golf Channel, and CBS as the tour hits its biggest months of the year. Through seven events, NBC is up 3% over 2022, and Golf Channel is up 9% through 15 events. And on NBC, the Honda Classic and WGC Dell Match Play events hit their highest ratings in four years, with the Valspar Championship reaching a five-year high.
Tour executives might hate it, but competition is good for viewership. LIV has forced PGA Tour planners to put their best product out on the course, and that’s all anybody wants in the end.
