AKA Creates Showstopping Film & Key Art Supporting Harlem Globetrotters 100th Anniversary
The Harlem Globetrotters' 100 Year Tour is a celebratory global triumph full of the gravity-defying dunks, entertaining showmanship, magic, and athleticism the famed team has become known and cherished for. To promote this tour, AKA, a full-service ad agency, invites audiences to become a part of the team’s legacy by attending this historic game and coming to a stadium near them.
By crafting suitably grand creative for this larger-than-life world tour, AKA seamlessly merges emotional storytelling with clear calls to action for this momentous event. AKA’s in-house creative team developed the key art and TV spot from concept to execution. With a track record of igniting audiences to attend large-scale live cultural experiences, from Broadway shows to arts & culture to attractions and sports, AKA was the perfect creative partner to amplify the Globetrotters’ legendary legacy while looking toward the future.
"To have the opportunity to work with such an iconic American franchise has been a dream come true,” says Robert Mathis, AKA Art Director. “In order to truly capture the magnitude of 100 years of the Harlem Globetrotters, we went through decades and decades of archival footage and photographs. Every day working on this project was like stepping into a time machine as we sought to pay reverence to the past. What we found was that though the uniforms changed, we found the thrills and joy that wowed audiences for a century remained constant."
The campaign film brings that history to life by intertwining past and present, anchoring the Globetrotters’ story in both heritage and momentum. The result honors the team’s legacy while inviting a new generation to experience the magic - positioning the 100 Year Tour as a once-in-a-lifetime, must-see event.
“Once we fully absorbed the past, we turned our focus to the future,” adds Sam Veal, Content Director at AKA. “We pieced together decades of photography with portraits of today’s Globetrotters to intertwine history with the present. We designed and built a 3D logo that projected archival footage as though the past were propelling us forward, and we re-orchestrated the synonymous ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’ to serve as the heartbeat of the motion campaign. The result is an epic trailer that not only lauds this centenary occasion but also showcases The Harlem Globetrotters as a living brand with another hundred years ahead of it.”
Kaila Stokes, AKA Account Director, reflects on the collaboration, “It was an honor to work with the team at the Harlem Globetrotters to develop a dynamic and fresh film that reflects the team’s enduring impact on sports and entertainment. Since the Harlem Globetrotters’ reach is so massive—as is the tour—we wanted to develop a campaign that proves this is a show you won’t want to miss and one you won’t soon forget.”
Credits:
Elizabeth Furze: Chief Executive Officer
Miky Wolf: Chief Creative Officer
Amanda Blackman: Chief Strategy Officer
Cynthia Posillico: Creative Director
Robert Mathis: Art Director
Sam Veal: Content Director
Megan Warshofsky: Senior Content Producer
Agatha Knouse: Project Manager
Aubrey Downing: Studio Coordinator
Kaila Stokes: Account Director
Sydney Mayer: Account Manager
