BNZ Apologises to NBA Legend Russell Westbrook, with Colenso BBDO

To launch this, BNZ have teamed up with 9x NBA All Star Russell Westbrook, former teammate of Steven Adams, to dramatise the fearsome reputation New Zealand ballers have across the world. With funding and support from BNZ, a new generation of New Zealand basketballers will have a platform to compete at basketball’s highest level and strike fear on the court.

The campaign marks the investment BNZ is making right across the sport, from the grassroots funding of the BNZ Kiwi Hoops programme helping to get 80,000 more kids onto court, to partnerships with NZ’s elite basketball teams - the BNZ Breakers and BNZ Northern Kāhu. 

Basketball is New Zealand’s fastest growing youth sport, but investment is needed to enable growth, realising the potential for the positive impact it can have on people and communities across the country.

“Basketball has power beyond the game. It teaches confidence, leadership, teamwork, and resilience that we can all use in life. We started our investment in basketball 12 months ago and we’ve already created many more opportunities for access and participation. Our long-term investment in basketball really is an investment in a better future for New Zealand. It’s great to be talking about it with a year of activity behind us,” says Amy Phillips, BNZ general manager marketing and design. 

Russell was a natural fit for the launch, having played with and against New Zealand talent, as well as sharing BNZ’s belief in the power of the game through his commitment to getting more kids into the sport through his Why Not? Foundation.

Launching as a 30”, the campaign’s hero spot sees Russell expressing mock displeasure at BNZ’s investment in the sport. Accompanying the spot are multiple OOH executions and two 15’s featuring BNZ Breakers, the BNZ Northern Kāhu and BNZ Kiwi Hoops kids.   

“’Invested in basketball’ isn’t just an exciting creative platform - it’s a commitment from BNZ to go beyond just a logo on a singlet. Their aim is to supercharge the growth of the game. This partnership won’t just grow confidence and foster leadership skills, it will also grow a generation of ballers ready to dunk on the world,” says Colenso BBDO chief creative officer, Si Vicars.  

The integrated campaign went live Saturday 28th September across TV, Cinema, OOH, Social, Digital, owned and internal channels.