The iconic voice of Frank Sinatra sets the mood for ESPN Marketing’s latest spot (see the video here) — a catchy, New York-themed promotion of the US Open.
The famous crooner “steals a little love” over tennis highlights and shots of New York taxicabs and skyscrapers to get fans excited for the two weeks of play at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Wes Clark, marketing manager, explains how it came together:
How did you come up with this creative?
We worked with our agency, 77 Ventures, to come up with a spot that would really celebrate New York. They came back to us with Frank Sinatra’s Can I Steal A Little Love? and we fell in love with the idea. It made sense for New York and there’s nothing more timeless than Sinatra.
How does this fit into your overall strategy?
Our goal is to really simplify the creative and let the tennis and the music speak for itself. We feel great about this direction and plan to continue using it for all the Majors. In each one, we’re trying to capture the tone of that particular Major, so the Wimbledon spot has a slightly different tone.
How has the feedback been?
We’ve gotten a great reaction so far, especially on Twitter. Fans are telling us that the spot has them excited. There’s a lot of love for Ol’ Blue Eyes.
ESPN’s multi-platform and worldwide coverage of tennis’ final Grand Slam event of the year, the US Open from New York, will begin Monday, Aug. 27, and fans can again expect some 100 hours in high definition on ESPN2 HD, 400 hours on ESPN3’s multi-court offering, plus coverage across ESPN’s platforms in the U.S. and around the world.
