Ford Broadcasts First Basketball Game without Shoe Squeaking

If you are a fan of basketball, you know that it doesn’t matter who is playing, or where a team is playing; you will hear shoes squeaking on the court. And if you are not a fan, you probably know that too. That’s how much that sound is linked to the sport, especially in games broadcast on TV.

To present the new EcoSport’s AdvanceTrac and its Electronic Stability Control technology that helps to prevent skidding on the streets, Ford Brazil had an insight that changed what the fan of basketball usually hears at all games: the sound of shoes squeaking on the court.

During the NBB - the Brazilian Basketball League – finals, in the five-game series that saw Flamengo beat Franca 3-2 to become champions, Ford Brazil removed sneakers squeaking on the court during one minute of every period. Every time the sound was off, the game announcer talked about the car and the no-sound experience, while an on-screen banner showed the car, its price and the site where people could read more about the technology.

The crossover SUV sponsored the entire basketball season on Fox Sports and ESPN and ended the partnership with that groundbreaking brand experience for the audience watching the games at home, removing squeaking on the court to talk about skidding on the road.