Ad of the Week: Capital One: “The Ivan Brothers”

If you like college basketball and, like me, you still have a day job, you probably saw this week’s Ad of the Week. CBS offered free streaming video of all the games on their sportsline site. Like many, I had the games running on my desktop while I was working. And the Ivan Brothers were everywhere. Seemed like almost every break, you’d see an ad for them, while a banner ad ran down the side of the video even as you went back to the game.

The ads were well done and a nice extension of Capital One’s long-standing marauding horde of barbarians campaign. The spots featured fictitious college named West Eastern State who, after long losing seasons had now secured a 15 seed in the tournament, riding on the massive shoulders of the Ivan Brothers. The Ivan Brothers are two giant barbarians who wear animal skins and horned helmets under their basketball uniforms. And their unstoppable on the court. The spots consist of a variety of famous college coaches like Tom Izzo, Roy Williams and Tubby Smith lamenting how tough it would be to face the Ivan Brothers, intercut with shots of the brothers amazing dunks and feats on the court. The best line is when Danny Manning says, “It’s hard to defend guys who are used to storming castles.”

Capital One: “NCAA coaches on the Ivan Brothers impact”

When the spots are over, you are directed to go to www.theIvanBrothers.com to see their story. It turns out to be Capital One’s YouTube channel, bedecked in Ivan Brothers graphics. All the TV and web ads are there along with a six-minute “documentary” about how the brothers were found and how they learned to harness their powers in a team format on the court. It’s worth the watch.

All in all, it’s a brilliant example of how to create an engaging campaign that ties into your overall one, but still is targeted specifically at the target you’re trying to reach and the environment in which you see them.

Mike McClure, Izzo and Ivan fan