Protege, the new line of basketball shoes and apparel created and worn by New York Knicks player Al Harrington, is now available exclusively at Kmart. The line was introduced nationally this past weekend via a new, fully integrated, multi-media campaign from Draftfcb Chicago.
The effort, called "Meet My Protégé," includes TV, out-of-home, online, mobile and dynamically inserted in-game ads on "Guitar Hero" and "NBA Live." The campaign kicked off with a TV spot to on TNT during the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, followed by a launch event in the game’s host city, Phoenix, Ariz. Out-of-home elements include branded subway trains, urban panels, billboards and 100-foot tall tower banners on Madison Square Garden in New York, as well as large-scale video projections on the sides of buildings in Phoenix throughout the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Many of the campaign’s out-of-home and online creative executions integrate a mobile call to action for consumers to text PROTEGE to a mobile code to receive free ringtone downloads. The Wireless Application Protocol site also includes downloadable wallpapers, a store locator directing users to the nearest Kmart for Protege merchandise and functionality to send a friend a message from Al Harrington.
After the initial launch, the TV spot will air on networks targeting young adults such as BET, G4, Fuse, Adult Swim, MTV2, CW and also during NBA programming and games on TNT throughout the month of March. Online presence will include websites such as BET.com, MTV.com and MySpace.
