I'll choose TD, thanks

If I hear one more media “personality” or blogging pundit criticize the team-first Spurs for being 'boring', I might scream. Likewise for everyone who laments the lack of television ratings. Perhaps the general public doesn't appreciate team-oriented basketball, but the general public also loves American Idol, and didn't like Arrested Development or Deadwood, so I don't really care. The league isn't hurting for financial remuneration. Perhaps ESPN/ABC is part of the problem with their crappy coverage, and if the league moved to a different network, all fans would benefit.

At NBA Finals, Sneaker Ads Go Toe to Toe - WSJ.com :


One team emphasizes a big superstar who performs spectacular feats and sometimes underwhelms. The other, less-flashy squad stresses teamwork and steady progress. It is this year's NBA Finals -- in more ways than one.

For decades, Nike has used its mix of star athletes and savvy marketing to dominate the basketball-shoe market. Now, the company's $90 million investment in LeBron James is being put to its biggest test as the National Basketball Association star's Cleveland Cavaliers continue to face the San Antonio Spurs this week. Adidas, meanwhile, is taking a different approach.
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Rival Adidas has a star endorser at the finals, too -- veteran Spurs big man Tim Duncan. But Mr. Duncan's TV spot, the fifth in a series of ads called “It Takes 5IVE,” stresses the importance of teamwork over the individual accomplishment of one player, a message particularly appropriate to the self-effacing Mr. Duncan and the Spurs. Adidas is also relying on its merchandising deal with the NBA to showcase its brand in the finals. Because the company is the league's official uniform and apparel provider, its logo appears on NBA players' uniforms and warm-up suits, and on the team jerseys and other NBA merchandise sold to fans.

“As a brand, it's a bigger picture for us, instead of taking just one guy and hedging all your bets on him,” says Adidas basketball spokesman Travis Gonzolez. Adidas's sponsorship of the NBA means the finals are “going to be a huge success for us, even if they [the Cavaliers] win.”
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As part of its campaign, Nike draped a 110-foot banner of Mr. James on a building in Cleveland and released a limited number of T-shirts with the word “Witness” above the Nike swoosh logo. Print and TV ads created by Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., highlight Mr. James's playoff performance and are running in Sports Illustrated, and on ESPN and other outlets. A digital campaign by R/GA in New York features information on Mr. James back to his high-school career in Ohio and shows commercials from the past two years of his NBA career.

Adidas's season-long “It Takes 5IVE” campaign features five Adidas-sponsored athletes -- Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups and Mr. Duncan. Adidas executives chose to save Mr. Duncan's ad for last, correctly guessing the Spurs would make it to the finals. In the ad, Mr. Duncan reiterates the theme, saying: “You were fooled because you believed it was all about me, while I believe it takes five.”

In the matchup of individual star power versus teamwork, some observers give the edge this time to Nike. “All the buzz around the finals is around LeBron,” says Jim Andrews, senior vice president at Chicago-based sports-marketing consulting firm IEG Inc. “They're able to capitalize on what's most interesting in the finals, which is his role.”

On the other hand, the Spurs are favored to win.

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