Nike and W+K Shanghai cook up their own March Madness in China to promote the HBL

In China people don’t really pay attention to high school basketball… even basketball fans. Nike China wanted to elevate its high school basketball league (HBL) to a level where the wider community would take notice of the league and its players and at the same time inspire basketball kids in China to pursue their own basketball dreams.

To commemorate and encourage the players of HBL, W+K Shanghai created a mysterious character with “The Voice of HBL.” This hooded, charismatic hype man magically reaches out to every player and everyone who loves the game by acknowledging their hard work and reminding them to seize this once in a lifetime opportunity – because they only HBL ONCE.

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In this film we see HBL players grinding through another day of practice and hustling every chance they get in their seasonal games, pushing themselves beyond their limits. All of this leads up to the grandest basketball stage of their life – NIKE HBL Invitational – where they will be challenged by the best teams from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

For the first time this year, the NIKE HBL Invitational will be held on the largest stage for basketball in China – Beijing Wukesong Stadium. It offers all the young high school athletes in Greater China the chance to make names for their schools and themselves and gain the attention of the entire nation.

For the out of home part of the campaign, Nike went to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and visited 12 HBL teams to capture true and emotional moments of joy, pain, accomplishment and camaraderie in their training and games. These stunning photos appear on each HBL school and also on the street of these cities, together with our campaign tagline “You Only HBL Once,” to inspire HBL players to play harder and let more people feel how much love these young players have for the game.

Credits –

Brand Communication Manager: Seven Yang