Arash Markazi, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Clippers begin 'relentless' media blitz

LOS ANGELES -- The viewing public will see a lot more of the Los Angeles Clippers this NBA season, even if they don’t plan on watching any games.

The team is rolling out an aggressive ad campaign with 60-second television spots that have aired and will continue this week during nationally televised NBA games. A 60-second and 30-second version will also be broadcast in the Los Angeles market during high-profile prime-time shows, live sports programming and at Los Angeles and Orange County movie theaters.

Billboards, wallscapes and newspaper and magazine ads will be plastered around Southern California as well.

“We are absolutely committed to developing the Clippers into not only one of the top teams on the court, but also one of the best organizations in professional sports,” new team owner Steve Ballmer said. “We are relentless in pursuit of our goals, and believe this campaign captures the essence of what it means to be a Clipper.”

The ad agency Rubin Postaer and Associates, which has worked on recent campaigns for Honda and Farmers Insurance, created the ads, entitled "Be Relentless," for the Clippers.

“Our goal is to make the Clippers the most loved sports entertainment brand -- period,” said Kirt Danner, a senior vice president and group account director at RPA.

Clippers guard Chris Paul had not seen the ad when asked about it before Wednesday’s practice.

“We’re relentless, I guess,” Paul said. “It’s good. We have to win basketball games. You know what I mean? All that other stuff, the words and the rah-rah-rah stuff is good and well, but we got to play.”

Coach Doc Rivers saw the ad before it was released but agreed with Paul that it doesn't mean much if the Clippers don’t win.

“I think it’s good,” Rivers said. “I thought it was a beautiful ad, but at the end of the day we still have to perform.”

The Clippers have also partnered with Second Spectrum, a tech company that provides the Clippers and six other NBA teams with data and analytics, to provide the same exclusive data-driven content they get during games to their fans inside Staples Center.

Some of the data fans will get to see during games includes DataFX, which combines advanced statistical data with Hollywood special effects, and “inSight” technology, which will allow fans to instantly search thousands of highlights from this season, find their favorites and then send them to the Staples Center big screen to view in real time.

The Clippers will also introduce a new 3D court projection system for their pregame introductions this season, similar to the one used by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they announced that eight-time Grammy winner Fergie will sing the national anthem prior to their season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

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