Supernice Delivers SAXX Appeal with NBA's Aaron Gordon
When underwear brand SAXX introduced pro basketball player Aaron Gordon to its lineup of game-changing athletes, it needed a campaign to show the world just why he was selected.
The brand’s ‘Gamechangers’ represent the best of the best – high-level athletes performing at the top level, consolidating legacies of being game changers in their respective sports. To spotlight basketballer Aaron Gordon’s place amongst the very best, SAXX enlisted the help of LA-based production company, Supernice, to spearhead the campaign.
Acting as a production partner, Supernice worked with SAXX through concept, production, post-production and delivery. Grappling with the limited time constraints of working with a professional athlete, which saw the team have just four hours with Aaron on set, Supernice found a “new rhythm” amidst the tight shoot window.
The final film offers an insight into the duality of Aaron’s life, showing the intense energy of being on court alongside his calm, meditative demeanour when not playing. To unpack the work in more detail, LBB’s Abi Lightfoot caught up with Supernice’s executive producer, and the campaign’s director, Robert Crenson.
Above, the 30' campaign film
LBB> How closely did you work with SAXX to build the initial creative concept?
Robert> We worked closely with their super talented creative director, Jenny Shipper, and their brand manager, Diana Etherington. Their team developed the concept behind the project with the ‘Opposing Forces’ of NBA all-star player Aaron Gordon's intense training schedule and laid back, mindful lifestyle. Once we were onboarded, our team was then tasked to bring it to life past a brief. This project was part of their broader ‘Game Changers’ campaign, which highlights their ambassador athletes' involvement with the brand across many different sport categories, including basketball, football, running, surf, etc.
Above, EP and director, Robert Crenson with NBA all-star athlete Aaron Gordon
LBB> From there, how did you take the concept from an initial idea through to delivery?
Robert> Our process at Supernice consists of four stages with our clients: concept, production, post-production, and delivery. Each stage provides different value-adds to our clients and the project. When all four are done in order, I find that typically provides the smoothest process and the outcome. In this case, much of the creative was already in a good place and ensured we were onboarding the right director of photography that stylistically understood this. We brought in the incredibly talented DP Mason Prendergast for this, as he has a strong background in shooting live-action movement and athletes.
Above, DP Mason Prendergast with NBA all-star athlete Aaron Gordon
LBB> You also directed the spot, were there any unexpected challenges to overcome during the production process?
Robert> The biggest challenge shooting this project was the time constraint. We had a total of four hours with Aaron Gordon, due to his stacked training and games schedule. We shot this in the middle of the NBA season in January, and he had a game the night before the shoot, and the day after as well. The standard production day is typically 10-12 hours of time with a subject or location. In total, we had four hours to make it work, which meant our specific shots and overall execution had to be intentional and calculated. We had to make the motion spot and stills assets feel like it was multiple looks and feels, whilst telling a story about Aaron's ethos and tie to the SAXX brand. Pre-production, pre-lighting and rehearsing specific shots on the day was key.
Behind the scenes footage
LBB> What were your highlights from this overall experience, and were there any key takeaways for Supernice?
Robert> The experience was stellar from start to finish. All the stakeholders on the client and athlete side were incredibly pleased. We built a great relationship with Aaron's camp. Our team also found a new rhythm on this project by being challenged with a tighter shoot window and fast post-production turn around. The shoot was close to the NBA all-star game, and we were tasked to turn them around fast enough for them to go to market for the brand during that NBA weekend.
LBB> Is this the kind of work that Supernice hopes to do more of in the future?
Robert> We work closely with top agencies and brands to bring their creative to life. The more hands on we can be with the creative, we find the better the production goes. Assigning the right director and cinematographer makes a world of difference for the creative and the entire process. This was a great example of how that was achieved, and we couldn't be more happy with the outcome and for our partnership with SAXX.
Our initial core at Supernice is production, but as the industry evolves, we've found more clients want us to develop the creative with them from an earlier stage. We essentially are building out an in-house agency model but with cores of a production company. Our post-production process was also quite involved, with in-person working sessions with our editor, colourist, and sound designer. We like to have creative autonomy as our post-production team is incredibly talented, but since this was our first time working with the SAXX team, we ensured they were looped in every step of the way.
