Outgoing chief advertising officer (CMO) Tammy Henault has put her stamp on the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation (NBA).
By celeb cameos and cinematic storytelling, the marketer has helped cement the NBA’s place in tradition whereas courting a world fan base since becoming a member of in 2022. Throughout her tenure, Henault helped the NBA break attendance information, reaching its second-highest numbers for the 2024-2025 season following an already record-breaking season prior.
Now, after three years within the position, she’s getting ready to step down. Advertising shall be led by “the group’s present management group on an interim foundation,” per an NBA spokesperson, whereas the league searches for a brand new CMO.
“What a rare privilege it has been to assist develop and evolve one of the vital iconic manufacturers on the earth—increasing our world viewers, deepening fan engagement, driving digital innovation, and strengthening the NBA’s cultural affect,” Henault wrote in a goodbye message on LinkedIn.
Listed below are 4 of the buzziest campaigns that helped Henault and her group flip the script for basketball and make historical past.
1. ‘We’re All within the Finals’ (2023)
Henault’s first star-studded marketing campaign for the league landed on social, linear TV, and the NBA app in Could 2023.
Produced by Brooklyn company Translation, the hero spot captured the worldwide pleasure surrounding the NBA Finals and the whirlwind of feelings that followers and gamers expertise throughout each sport.
Set to “Hometown Glory,” by British artist Adele, and narrated by actor John Malkovich, the 60 second advert confirmed NBA legends, sports activities icons, and celebrities watching the finals with bated breath. Cameos included rapper and NBA ambassador SUGA and skateboarding icon Tony Hawk. TV host and comic Jimmy Kimmel and NFL champions Peyton Manning and Eli Manning additionally featured.
The spot closes with NBA icons Larry Chook and Magic Johnson marveling at their mixed championship rings.
Within the run-up to the finals, the league relaunched its Larry O’Brien Trophy tour, sending the {hardware} to rub shoulders with well-known people like Tom Brady, Mariah Carey, Fats Joe, Dangerous Bunny, and UFC champions.
The 2023 tour was successful on social, garnering greater than 200 million video views and attracting almost 100,000 followers throughout Fb, Instagram, TikTok, and X.
Following this success, Henault continued to ship the trophy to high-traffic locations and glitterati meetups every season.
2. ‘Playoff Mode. It’s a Factor,’ (2024)
“Playoff Mode. It’s a Factor.” narrated by comic Chris Rock landed in April 2024 to advertise the NBA Playoffs.
The hero spot confirmed NBA gamers attempt to play it cool about going to the playoffs—despite the fact that they’re an enormous deal. All-stars comparable to Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson, Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and Nikola Jokic featured within the marketing campaign.
The artistic performed on the concept that the “playoffs unlock an elevated model of all of us, from passionate followers to the unequalled rivals throughout the league,” Henault mentioned on the time.
The work, once more from Translation, launched alongside the NBA’s first sonic model id, which mashed up snippets of balls bouncing on courts, sneakers squeaking on hardwood, roaring crowds, and swishing nets.
This marketing campaign was swiftly adopted just a few weeks later by “The Toast,” which featured former professional basketballer Dwyane Wade because the grasp of ceremonies in a glamorous, mood-lit speakeasy, elevating a glass of bubbly to “the season that was and the champion to be.”
Queen Latifah additionally took a starring position, alongside NBA legends Johnson, Isiah Thomas, and Ray Allen; ESPN commentator Mike Breen; and Girls’s Nationwide Basketball Affiliation stars Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky. Kimmel featured as soon as extra, with debuts from fellow comic and actor Ken Jeong and legend Magic Johnson.
3. ‘The Heist and The Heist II’ (2023 and 2024)
In 2023, to hype its inaugural In-Season Match, Translation and the NBA premiered “Heist,” a stylized homage to Ocean’s Eleven with basketball superstars taking part in key roles in a swagger-filled crime-lite caper.
Performing as “the mastermind,” Michael Imperioli, finest recognized for roles in Goodfellas and The Sopranos, led viewers by the fast-paced brief movie designed for social and on-line the place the embellished athletes stalk their prize—the NBA Cup.
After the unique racked up over 500 million views, a sequel dropped in Oct. 2024. “The Heist II” introduced the upcoming 2024 Emirates NBA Cup.
Actor-producer Rosario Dawson joined the forged in her first advert for the NBA, with Imperioli and Los Angeles Lakers veteran Anthony Davis reprising their roles.
“We wished to maintain the narrative and the storytelling car constant,” Henault instructed ADWEEK on the time. “We’re persevering with to construct consciousness and to coach individuals about this match, and we’re making an attempt to talk to a broad base—informal followers, girls, multicultural audiences, Gen Z.”
4. Unforgettable Awaits (2025)
Henault’s farewell marketing campaign for the 2025 NBA Finals signed off with a mix of hoops, music, and nostalgia.
Set to “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole, the Translation-created spot launched in Could 2025 as an ode to the legendary moments which have outlined NBA finals historical past, from LeBron James’ chase-down block in Sport 7 of the 2016 finals, to the 2000 embrace between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
Interwoven with these historic highlights are reels of on a regular basis NBA followers recreating the moments in their very own lives, showcasing simply how “unforgettable” the large occasion might be. Actors Kevin Costner and Mindy Kaling even get a cameo.
In addition to linear and digital buys, a corresponding print, digital, audio, and out-of-home marketing campaign prolonged “Unforgettable Awaits” globally.
