NCAA UPS

UPS highlights logistics that made Laettner’s shot possible

By Michael Smith, Staff Writer

Published March 12, 2012

UPS will break its March Madness ad campaign this week with spots that tie Christian Laettner’s famous game-winning shot against Kentucky in the NCAA tournament to the company’s logistics theme.

“Everybody remembers the shot. But what about the pass?” says the deep-voiced narrator over video of Grant Hill making the long pass to Laettner. “No pass, no shot.”

UPS said it’s the first time the company has used actual NCAA content in its advertising. It featured college coaches in its advertising last year, but the use of actual game footage is a first for UPS.

The 20-year anniversary of Laettner’s heroic play in 1992 appears to be popular this month. It also provides the backdrop for another NCAA partner, LG Electronics, which will use the Duke-Kentucky theme in its sponsorship of Center Court inside Bracket Town, the primary fan-fest area for the Final Four. Former Duke guard Bobby Hurley and former Kentucky sharpshooter Travis Ford will make appearances.

“The Pass,” a 30-second spot highlighting Hill’s spot-on 78-foot heave to Laettner, is one of four commercials UPS has lined up for TV on CBS and the Turner networks, March Madness Live’s digital broadcast, UPS’s Facebook page and other online outlets. There’s a 30-second spot, a 75-second spot and a two-minute video that will run on Facebook. The two-minute video recognizes revolutionary moments in basketball, such as John Wooden’s development of the high-post offense.

UPS didn’t specify a cost for its activation, but sponsorship fees for NCAA corporate partners range from $10 million to $15 million a year.

UPS’s March Madness campaign is tied to the 20th anniversary of a game-winning shot.

UPS, the NCAA’s official logistics partner, also has four new brand ambassadors from the college world to represent the company: Rutgers women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer; Connecticut women’s coach Geno Auriemma; Butler men’s coach Brad Stevens; and ESPN analyst Dick Vitale.

“This represents the debut of these four new personalities in our advertising,” said Doug Gibeaut, director of sponsorships and events for UPS. “Last year, we used Coach Auriemma and some others to make that connection between basketball and logistics and it was very successful. Now we’re taking the relationship a step further and you’ll see these brand ambassadors making appearances at UPS events to make that connection between basketball and logistics even stronger.

“In the past, you might have seen coaches talking about basketball and logistics. Now you’re going to see them more directly talking about UPS.”


UPS believed it found a star in Auriemma through the logistics spots that he taped last year and he was a slam dunk to bring back as an ambassador. Stringer is another high-energy personality from the women’s game.

Stevens represents Butler, the small Indianapolis school that made it to two straight championship games. He makes the connection with the small business that’s trying to look bigger than it is. And Vitale was picked because, well, he’s Vitale.

The ads and the new brand ambassadors are part of a March Madness program that UPS has deepened this year. Not only will the delivery company be activating with heavy media across TV and digital, it will take the actual playing court that will be used for the Final Four in New Orleans on a multi-city, multi-campus tour.

“We’ll be physically delivering the court that will be used for the Final Four,” said Betsy Wilson, director of global advertising. “We’re partnering with Connor Sport Court to move the floor around the country.”

The court’s first appearance will be in Columbus on March 16, followed by stops in Louisville, Ky., and Atlanta, as well as the campuses of Auburn, Southern Mississippi and LSU on its way to New Orleans.

Ogilvy & Mather worked with UPS on its advertising and media planning, while IMG College assisted with the selection of the coaches as brand ambassadors. Momentum’s Atlanta office handles UPS’s activation and strategy.

“This is the most integrated effort we’ve had to tell the UPS story,” Gibeaut said. “From what we’ll do with hospitality at the Final Four all the way up to our advertising, we’re doing the most we’ve ever done to engage the fans with our content.”