Russell Westbrook Reacts to BNZ's Basketball Investment

Russell Westbrook has had enough of BNZ's investment in basketball. On 5 July, the bank launched a new campaign to support the sport, with Westbrook appearing to endorse the initiative, but with a sarcastic tone.

BNZ has partnered with Basketball New Zealand to address the shortage of coaches, with a goal to reach 20,000 community coaches.

The NBA legend has been involved in the campaign, initially asking BNZ to stop investing in basketball, fearing that the kids would grow up to dunk on him.

The integrated campaign will run across TV, cinema, OOH, social, digital, owned, and internal channels, with Westbrook's sarcastic endorsement aiming to encourage more people to become coaches.

BNZ's commitment to basketball has already shown results, with over 90,000 kids participating in the BNZ Kiwi Hoops programme.

The partnership between BNZ and Basketball New Zealand was recently awarded Commercial Partnership of the Year at the New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards.

Amy Phillips, GM Marketing & Design at BNZ, stated that the next challenge is building the coaching bench, so that kids have access to the sport.

Hadleigh Sinclair, Group Creative Director at Colenso BBDO, said that Russell Westbrook knows what New Zealanders are capable of when they support basketball.

The campaign's production team included Adam Gunser as director and Andrew McLean as executive producer.

The new campaign is part of BNZ's ongoing commitment to basketball, with Russell Westbrook's involvement aiming to raise awareness and encourage participation.