After signing Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant last year, Sonic Drive-In's first ad campaign with the reigning NBA MVP from Goodby Silverstein & Partners puts a new twist on the brand's classic "Two Guys" ads.
Starting today and continuing through August, 15- and 30-second spots will run on TV, online and on social media. The first 15-second ad plays off of the typical "Two Guys"—played by T. J. Jagodowski and Peter Grosz—commercials and takes place at a drive-in restaurant. But the second ad, a 30-second spot, got the brand to think more outside the box, said Sonic CMO Todd Smith.
"Incorporating Kevin allowed us to take the two guys out of the car and into new and unexpected scenarios that hadn't previously been explored," Smith said. "Kevin is naturally funny, and the creative concepts played off his personality, which was a perfect combination [of] Pete and TJ's style of humor–Kevin even ad-libbed a line or two."
In the longer ad, set in a gym, Durant takes on the two guys in basketball.
The ads promote two new flavors of Sonic Slushes made with Nerds candies. The All Star is a blue raspberry-flavored drink, and the Game Changer is a lemon and strawberry concoction.
"We saw this as a perfect opportunity to collaborate and introduce Kevin to our culinary innovation process, while getting really creative with one of our iconic menu offerings," Smith said.
Sonic is bringing back Nerds-filled Slushes after a successful trial last year. USA Today reports the drinks continued to sell at roughly 50 percent of summer levels after the summer ended. The brand has run similar limited-time drinks in the past, including a mystery flavor that was only promoted on social media last year.
CREDITS
Ad Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Client: Sonic
Brand: Sonic Drive-In
Title of Creative Work: "One on One on One" :30 / "Dunk" :15
Live Dates: 4/27/15
Sonic
CEO and President: Cliff Hudson
SVP and CMO: Todd Smith
Director of Brand Advertising: Molly Brill
GS&P
Creative
Executive Creative Director/Partner: Margaret Johnson
ACD/Writer: Jon Wolanske
Art Director: Sean Smith
Copywriter: Kevin Steele
Production
Director of Broadcast Production: Tod Puckett
Broadcast Producer: Matthew Winks
Broadcast Producer: Christine Oh
Assistant Broadcast Producer: Christina Wells
Account Services
Group Account Director: Leslie Barrett
Account Director: Jenna Duboe
Account Manager: Melody Cheung
Assistant Account Manager: Olivia Mullen
Brand and Communication Strategy
Group Brand Strategy Director: Bonnie Wan
Senior Brand Strategist: Melanie Wong
Brand Strategist: Suhail Shaikh
Group Communication Strategy Director: Dong Kim
Senior Communication Strategist: John-James Richardson
Research & Analytics Director: Heather Barrett
Business Affairs
Director of Business Affairs: Bess Cocke
Business Affairs Associate Director: Judy Ybarra
Business Affairs Manager: Jane Regan
Business Affairs Manager: Chrissy Shearer
Senior Broadcast Traffic Manager: Edgar Ornelas
Outside Vendors
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Clay Weiner
Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer: Holly Vega
Head or Production: Rachel Glaub
Producer: Lisa Stockdale
Editorial: Arcade
Managing Partner: Damian Stevens
Executive Producer: Nicole Visram
Senior Editor: Nick Rondeau
Editor: Healy Snow
Online/VFX: Timber
Managing Partner: Damian Stevens
Creative Directors/Partners: Jonah Hall & Kevin Lau
Executive Producer: Chris Webb
Lead Flame Artist: Chris Homel
Audio Mix: Lime Studios
Mixer: Joel Waters
Assistant Mixer: Kayla Phungglan