Kevin Garnett Shows Character on Adidas Site

On the court, basketball player Kevin Garnett alternatively acts like a warrior, a kid, a hero, a leader and a comedian. That’s the idea creative agency EVB tried to express in the microsite for his namesake Adidas shoe, the Garnett 3.

The site explores the many personalities Garnett brings to the game by putting the player in different settings. The settings reflect those in a TV commercial promoting the same shoe.

On the site, visitors see Garnett — and the Garnett 3 shoe — in several scenarios. He dons armor in a gladiator-like arena to portray him as the warrior. On the playground basketball court, Garnett shows his trademark personality as the kid. In an urban setting, Garnett rescues a woman from a burning building making him a hero. As a soldier on the battlefield, the NBA player demonstrates his leadership qualities. A last scenario puts Garnett on stage as a stand-up comic.

“Kevin Garnett brings all these personalities to the basketball court,” EVB Creative Director Jason Zada told ClickZ News. “We wanted to bring out those personalities to explore online and get to show the shoes in a way we’ve never seen demonstrated online.”

Additional site features include downloadable content for the Sony PlayStation PSP. Zada said the PSP was an appropriate way to reach the target audience — fans of the 17-year old basketball player. “It seemed like a perfect fit,” he said.

Each scenario features Garnett with the Garnett 3 shoes shown in stop-motion 3D. “Other sites will show shoes in 3D, this is the first time we’ve seen a person in this type of dynamic environment,” said Zada.

Though the Web site extends the look and feel of the TV spot, it was produced after the filming of the commercial. EVB rendered each environment in 3D based on the settings used in the broadcast ad. The firm also had the constraint of limited access to Kevin Garnett once the basketball season began.

The site is part of a campaign that uses heavy in-store signage and full-size Kevin Garnett standees at Footlocker stores. Outdoor posters placed in urban markets support the campaign’s grassroots efforts. EVB worked on the wild postings for the campaigns; each point to the Web site.

In the first week the site was live, EVB saw a great response with viral pick-up. Visitors sent elements of the site to friends and downloaded content.

EVB is already working on additional Web sites and campaigns for Adidas. Recent rich media campaigns for other clients include multiple sites for Old Spice; LeapFrog’s Fly pentop computer, and Juicy Fruit