I spoke with Santa Clara University professor Chuck Byers, a marketing and brand management expert, about how this ad fits into Curry's larger brand.
What did you think of the ad?
Candidly, I loved it. That song is definitely targeted to a younger audience. Clearly not something targeted to middle-aged professors. I think it was a great job matching creative to the target audience.
This isn't Curry's first offbeat ad. How do these ads fit into his larger brand?
I think it fits into his brand because he definitely comes across as hip. He knows what's in. He knows what's cool. He knows how to reach people through that genre.
Is there anything more substantial here than a basketball star singing a goofy song?
I think so. When we look at online ads, the first thing we encourage people to do is to be entertaining and bring value. If you listen, it doesn't even mention Brita. So it meets the first criteria of a great piece of online creative in that it is entertaining, it is funny. It creates audience involvement because people are going to watch because they love it or they hate it, and involvement is what it really looks to me they're trying to target. Along with what I would consider a public service message of eat healthy, drink healthy.
Could this be setting up a post-basketball career move for Curry into acting or music?
Definitely, he is pointing to a post-basketball career as a valued spokesperson for a lot of potential brands.
