NFL and NBA Superstars 'Take Notice' in Campaign Produced by Laundry

Design, animation, and production company Laundry recently animated an electrifying spot for 'Take Notice', a new cross-promotional campaign for EA SPORTS NHL 20 and adidas. The four spots launched in the game, online, and social.

The 'Take Notice' campaign drops NFL and NBA superstars into the world of world of CHEL (slang for the NHL video game series). From Kyle Lowry’s maple syrup drip, to Adam Thielen’s sizzling threads, to JuJu Smith-Schuster’s scooped fit, the campaign introduces each athlete as a playable character in 'NHL Ones Now' with story-driven apparel drops available for purchase both in-game and in the real world.

For Laundry, led by partner/executive creative director PJ Richardson, the goal was to give hockey the same culturally-driven coolness seen in NBA or NFL-inspired design and streetwear.

“The conceptual challenge was to explain how everything works and also give each athlete and brand partner their moment in the spots,” says Richardson. “We came up with a simple narrative that each athlete is crashing the CHEL, and using their different moves and athletic abilities - whether it’s dunking or faking out a secondary - in their journey to the NHL as a fan. This way, we were able to show off their unique personalities and image recognition as superstars, some of their custom gear, such as hoodies, jerseys, and skates, and then tie everything back into the NHL.” 

Because the spots had to feature NHL 20 game footage, Laundry opted to animate the piece with a bold 2D graphic style that would stand apart from the video game world yet seamlessly connect to it. 

“There were a lot of layers to the message of this campaign, so we had to come up with an animation solution that not only generated excitement, but also kept the athletes and their respective apparel front and centre with visual continuity,” concludes Richardson. “This approach also enabled us to do some dynamic things in terms of camera moves, transitions, and character designs. EA was extremely open and collaborative every step of the way and we had a blast working with them.”