ADC Awards
ADC Annual Awards is the oldest continuously running industry award show in the world, with an incredible legacy of over 100 years. These awards celebrate the very best in advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, motion, experiential and spatial design, photography, illustration and fashion design – all with a focus on artistry and craftsmanship.
Learn more about ADC105
Category
Innovation
Annual ID
ADC_INT21_012S
About the Work
“Play games without the fans? Nah, it’s impossible. I ain’t playing.”
— LeBron James March 6, 2020
When COVID-19 sent the 2020 sports season into a tailspin, Michelob ULTRA partnered with Microsoft and the NBA to reinvent live viewing forever.
While other leagues scrambled to install cardboard fan cutouts, these brands unleashed the unimaginable, innovated in the NBA Bubble, and Michelob ULTRA Courtside was born. An immersive experience for fans and players alike, groundbreaking technology brought fans Courtside via Microsoft’s new Together Mode and a ring of 17-foot LED screens that created a virtual “crowd.” In mere weeks, innovation was born of necessity:
Immersive AI Segmentation: This technology uses scientific principles of cognition and social perception to allow natural eye contact and register fellow participants’ emotions as they react to what’s happening.
Millisecond Data Transfers: To allow real-time interaction between fans, athletes, and broadcasters, split-second rapid feeds of video and audio came from fans’ homes to the Orlando NBA Bubble, to the Secaucus NBA Production Center, back to the fan viewing experience.
Spatial Audio & Video Design: 120 spatial audio contact microphones and a never-before-seen rail cam ensured that fans truly felt, reacted, and interacted as if they were Courtside, in person.
The live watching experience was redefined. Fans were invited to game nights hosted by Michelob ULTRA. Each night, stands were filled with first responders, adoptable dogs, or unsuspecting fans who found themselves “sitting” next to the likes of Lil Wayne, Shaq, and even President Obama. Players interacted with fans during the games and over 535,000 unique people visited the digital Courtside property, a record in the brand’s history.
Michelob ULTRA’s sales grew 32%, due to on-bottle, scan-to-win ticket promotions. 13 billion impressions made Courtside the #1 sports industry topic. Game-changing innovation… changed the game for years to come.
— LeBron James March 6, 2020
When COVID-19 sent the 2020 sports season into a tailspin, Michelob ULTRA partnered with Microsoft and the NBA to reinvent live viewing forever.
While other leagues scrambled to install cardboard fan cutouts, these brands unleashed the unimaginable, innovated in the NBA Bubble, and Michelob ULTRA Courtside was born. An immersive experience for fans and players alike, groundbreaking technology brought fans Courtside via Microsoft’s new Together Mode and a ring of 17-foot LED screens that created a virtual “crowd.” In mere weeks, innovation was born of necessity:
Immersive AI Segmentation: This technology uses scientific principles of cognition and social perception to allow natural eye contact and register fellow participants’ emotions as they react to what’s happening.
Millisecond Data Transfers: To allow real-time interaction between fans, athletes, and broadcasters, split-second rapid feeds of video and audio came from fans’ homes to the Orlando NBA Bubble, to the Secaucus NBA Production Center, back to the fan viewing experience.
Spatial Audio & Video Design: 120 spatial audio contact microphones and a never-before-seen rail cam ensured that fans truly felt, reacted, and interacted as if they were Courtside, in person.
The live watching experience was redefined. Fans were invited to game nights hosted by Michelob ULTRA. Each night, stands were filled with first responders, adoptable dogs, or unsuspecting fans who found themselves “sitting” next to the likes of Lil Wayne, Shaq, and even President Obama. Players interacted with fans during the games and over 535,000 unique people visited the digital Courtside property, a record in the brand’s history.
Michelob ULTRA’s sales grew 32%, due to on-bottle, scan-to-win ticket promotions. 13 billion impressions made Courtside the #1 sports industry topic. Game-changing innovation… changed the game for years to come.
2021 Awards
Total Points: 21
Silver Cube
Credits
Agency
FCB / New York
FCB Global / New York
Client / Brand
ABI, Michelob ULTRA
Associate Creative Director
Hernan Ibanez
Simon Dolsten
Matt Everts
Mytran Dang
Thomas Mori
Chief Creative Officer
Fred Levron
Chief Marketing Officer
Marcel Marcondes
Creative Director
Jay Marsen
Lex Beltrone
Editor
Alan Chimenti
Executive Creative Director
Samira Ansari
Strategy Director
Sam Joseph
Co-Chief Creative Officer
Gabriel Schmitt
Michael Aimette
Editorial Art Director
James McCarthy
Editorial CCO
Nathan Robinson
Editorial Creative Director
Brian Williams
Editorial Executive Producer
James Taylor
Editorial Executive Producer, Partner
Sarah Brooks
Executive Creative Director Art & Design
Sy-Jenq Cheng
Senior Content Creator
Adam Nelson
Sound Designer / Mixer
Chris Afzal
Conrad Sanguineti
Eric Thompson
SVP, Group Strategy Director
Ben Grossman
Account Director
Ashley Read
Account Executive
Joe Labuz
Brand Director
Joe Geoghegan
Brand Manager
Aamir Raj
Creative
Stu Mair
Director of Digital Marketing & Ecommerce
Miles Ritenour
Director, Marketing Communications
Jessica Thorpe
Director, Sports Marketing
Kerry Scalora
Editorial
School Editing
Editorial / VFX / CG
Ntropic
Editorial Head of Production
Stephanie Hornish
Editorial Producer
Natalia Wrobel
Steve Villeseche
EVP, Director of Integrated Production
Adam Isidore
Executive Integrated Producer
Chris Lenz
Executive Sound Producer
Vicky Ferraro
Executive Sound Producer, Partner
Mary Tomasiewicz
Head of CG
Dave White
Head of U.S. Sports Marketing
Matt Davis
Integrated Producer
Pim Leeuwenkamp
Music
SixtyFour Music
Offline Editor
Matt Kett
Daniel Bochenski
Lauren Horn
Pre-Vis Animator
Joshua Frankel
Production Artist
Rachel Power
Project Manager
Joanna Groom
Senior Broadcast Business Manager
Ellen Kuratnik
Senior Integrated Producer
Kendra Plantt
Senior Marketing Director
Marcela Garcia
Talita Andrade
Senior Media Manager
Andrew Gelbard
Sound Design / Mix
honeymix
Wave Studios
SVP, Group Account Director
Megan Bundy
Talent Manager
Trish Gregor
Traffic Manager
Mary Beth Parton
VFX Artist
Ethan Chang
Jerome Knight
Miguel Diaz-Rivera
Vice President, Connections
Azania Andrews
Vice President, Marketing
Ricardo Marques
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