Sony was seeking to promote their upcoming film The Equalizer 2 via a media buy and a partnership with The NBA Finals on ABC. ESPN Creative Works developed a concept featuring the film’s star, Denzel Washington and the film’s director, Antoine Fuqua, wherein Denzel is hinting that he is not interested in doing the sequel to the first Equalizer film. Denzel suggests that Antoine hold auditions among NBA players to find a replacement.

In order to connect the movie to the NBA and directly appeal to viewers of the NBA Finals, the strategy was to create promotional content that utilized NBA athletes as featured players in the campaign. The crossover effect of having NBA players attempting to participate in the world of filmmakers and actors would be attention grabbing and lead to some fun interaction.

ESPN Creative Works and Sony created a series of spots that told the story of Denzel’s hesitation in doing the sequel. He suggests that Antoine should instead audition NBA players for his role. Antoine then goes through the audition process with the likes of Dwight Howard, Lonzo Ball and Joel Embiid. The director becomes frustrated to the point that he begs Denzel to come back. Ultimately, in the final wrap-up spot, Denzel agrees to do the sequel.

The outcome was a series of eight TV spots, plus a long form video piece and a series of social posts – including Instagram Stories with behind the scenes content, as well as spoof movie posters featuring the NBA players. The content was engaging on many levels, reached the desired audience in a unique manner and ultimately led to a successful box office run for the film.