The National Basketball League has launched a new NBL TV commercial that began being aired across the country from 9th October.

The commercial centres around the new NBL tag line of “It goes off!” and run on Network Ten and its regional networks.

The ad was commissioned by the NBL with strategic agency shift.101 and award-winning creative agency 12:20 to create the NBL’s first national marketing campaign for almost a decade.

The brief was to capture the attributes of the global game of basketball and communicate the inherent excitement and unique atmosphere a game of elite basketball produces in the NBL. 

The commercial uses a key point of difference for basketball – the 24-second shot clock. The constant action and urgency created by the ever reducing shot clock means that players are always on the edge – looking for the next play.

The promise of explosive action at every stage of the game means that the sport can deliver on its promise of being one of the most exciting spectator sports for fans at the game or watching on TV.

The key brand device that brings this to life in the ad is an ‘explosive basketball’. Using the image best remembered from cartoons and old Hollywood movies, the exploding ball device captures the feeling of impending action and extraordinary explosive action on court and off.

The concept has the full support of all nine NBL clubs, who have welcomed the idea as a fresh and exciting approach to the marketing of the league.