Ford Motor Company | Portland Trail Blazers Partnership
Background
Ford and the Portland Trail Blazers wanted a partnership campaign to connect with fans and highlight both brands’ legacies.
Assignment
Create a campaign that felt authentic, engaging, and aligned with both Ford’s brand identity and the Trail Blazers.
Solution
While reviewing the brief, my partner and I discovered in the appendix that the upcoming season marked the Trail Blazers’ 50th anniversary. We immediately recognized an opportunity to build a campaign around this milestone. Drawing on the shared heritage of both brands, we combined archival footage of classic Ford vehicles with historic Blazers moments to create a nostalgic, energetic campaign.
We produced a wide range of multi-platform assets:
:30 broadcast video to tell the full story
:15 digital videos for YouTube, Hulu, and streaming placements
:06 cutdowns for social media engagement
Print materials, in-stadium video, and digital LED signage to reinforce the partnership across touchpoints
All visuals carried a retro aesthetic referencing the ’70s–2000s, tying together nostalgia and excitement.
Results
The campaign successfully fused nostalgia with energy, creating a memorable partnership that resonated across multiple touchpoints. It strengthened Ford’s association with the Trail Blazers, engaged fans digitally and in-person, and demonstrated our ability to translate brand insight into large-scale, multi-channel creative execution.
Partnership print ad
In-stadium assets | digital 360 rings, static LEDs, free throw counter, and “big screen” video over the basketball court
Broadcast animation | Keys to the Game
Copy - Rob Bibelhauser
Edit - Sam Park at Dystnct Media