Nothing shimmers further for any marketing company than the success of worldwide failure. Even better when the company at hand hides the shortcomings in the failures and fears of more prominent people. Sports players are fine sacrificial cows for this reason. Up to the line in metaphoric basketball, 76ers' Allen 'I Will Cut Your Throat and Spit Down It For the Sheer Rush' Iverson and new ad spots for Reebok's Answer 7.
In the ad, Iverson is disturbed by his mind's replay of missed shots, and awakens with a renewed passion to beat the demons in his dreams. Heading out the door at 5:00 a.m., Iverson bounces the ball in perfect rhythm down the pre-dawn streets of Philadelphia, his team's home turf. Dribbling alongside trains, past barking dogs, in and out of oncoming traffic, and finally up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Iverson displays his dedication to mastering the sport of basketball.
Taking melted down batteries and sucking the fumes from paint balls, Reebok are fighting the demons in a marketplace that still drive the same car with the near-naked woman strapped onto the hood of the vehicle. That hallucinations aren't more of an everyday occurence is questionable and need investigation on the purity of smack being bought. Reebok's image push of a professional basketballer running in and out of oncoming traffic while still in daze of nightmares puts their Answer 7 as a concentrated dose of a new found drug. One which will cause sleeplessness and an instilled belief in invulnerability. Everything old is new again.
Written on Friday, 24 October 2003