Fans create their own ads

Browsing through the interwebs today made me extra-intrigued by what I saw. I figured it would only be a matter of time before someone re-created this NBA Playoff Amazing campaign with LeBron's game winner from Game Two. Here it is, it's even more incredible in black and white with the soft music jamming.

Then I saw this tribute to VCU's Eric Maynor, set to the voiceover of a Jordan campaign. It's also pretty cool - I like how they put some nice parallels in their of Eric as a young player versus Eric as the guy who led VCU past Duke in the NCAA Tourney.

What is interesting here is there is a definite desire to take what is a national, high level inspiration and apply it to your team, to your school, to your player. How this evolves will be telling, but the message behind the Jordan campaign wasn't going to be developed specifically for Eric Maynor and VCU. But now it has been adapted, and this could get even bigger. It will be interesting to see how brands empower fans with the tools they need to create their own stories over the next few seasons.