New Carmelo Anthony Shoe Commercial Is the Evolution of Egotistical Advertising

Another day, another athlete’s overblown and overpriced shoe commercial has come out.

Today (technically last night via twitter) it was Carmelo Anthony’s advertisement that hit the internet before it hit TVs.

In the last 10 days, three of the biggest players that were selected in the 2003 draft came out with glitzy and glamorous ads to sell sneakers.

LeBron’s ad was well done, catchy and entertaining to the postmodern observer’s eye.

King James travels in time, back to high school and into the future where he celebrates getting into the Hall of Fame with no one in attendance. He pokes fun at Michael Jordan there and Charles Barkley’s landmark ad in which he declared, “I am not a role model” while chomping a donut right after (a gouge at Barkley’s weight).

It was so eye-catching, this journalist watched it some 10 times the first day it came out and it was so talked about, South Park spoofed the commercial last night.

His unapologetic style made it apparent the King answers to no one.

Dwyane Wade then showed off his new “Dominate Another Day” ad, which looks like a mix of Iron Man and James Bond.

Comic Kevin Hart is D3’s (Wade) wingman as the superstar speeds through the streets of Miami on a superbike and is creatively written as the “Green Gang” (Celtics) van tries to cut Wade off and a tanker with the “Snake Charmer’s” logo (Kobe is the Black Mamba) tries to side swipe him.

Wade makes it through all the wildness just fine and finishes the ad saying, “This my friend, is gonna be fun.”

It’s got an exciting feel and doesn’t come off as arrogant.

But Carmelo Anthony’s “Do Whatever it Takes” ad is soaked in arrogance and an ego-maniacal attitude.

Melo is every single player, on both teams, the head coach, the fan sitting courtside and even the color commentator (in fact, the only other “actor” and worst part of the ad was Nuggets’ play-by-play man Chris Marlowe who just recently learned the sport of basketball).

Carmelo certainly is the center of his universe—this ad bears that for the world to see.

Anthony tried not to look like a selfish LeBron James with his decision by demanding a trade, but his latest statement of “It’s time for a change” to Yahoo! Sports coupled with this commercial says Melo wants exactly what he wants—nothing else.

Not only is Melo being self-serving off the court—demanding a trade behind closed doors, but only to one of the three teams of his choosing (NY, NJ, CHI)—it’s reflected by his ball-hogging play on the court.

Carmelo’s best attribute is scoring, and he shoots the ball a massive amount of the time (18 per game) while only making 46 percent of them. And while his rebounding has been up in this young season (9.0 per), Melo’s career average is a mere 6.2 boards per game—a telling sign of a lack of work effort by a 6’8” small forward.

The point is this: David Stern created monsters when he decided it was best for the league to focus on star players.

Having your own line of shoes and high-dollar advertising is basically a prerequisite to being a superstar in the NBA these days—it’s also an example of the spotlight shining brightly on these imperfect people while giving a unique glimpse into their lives.

Of course, the players themselves don’t write the ad, but they write off on acting in it and therefore sign off on how their public image is portrayed.

Come off confident and you sell more shoes and jerseys.

Come off cocky and it could be a recipe for disaster, a fall from fame.

For Nuggets fans that have already felt as if they’ve been held hostage by Melo and all his drama and just want the team to move forward—this ad is a further slap in the face.

Do whatever it takes Melo, to make yourself happy.

If that means going to New York to play with Amar’e Stoudemire, the similarly selfish player who needs the ball in his hands to be effective (much like you), then so be it.

The problem is that the Knicks don’t have what Denver wants so if he won’t sign, the Nuggets will have to send him elsewhere.

Melo went from, “I never said anything about a trade” on media day to “I think it’s time for a change” in two weeks flat and even though he’s wearing the Nuggets baby blue and yellow in this commercial, the ad also shows just how narcissistic Anthony is.

Do whatever it takes to coach, cheer on and play basketball with yourself Melo, but alienate everyone else and you will find yourself alone on the court no matter where you end up playing.

Rich Kurtzman is a Colorado State Alumnus and a freelance journalist. Along with being the CSU Rams and Fort Collins Beer Bars Examiner, Kurtzman is a Denver Broncos and the Denver Nuggets Featured Columnist for bleacherreport.com and the Colorado/Utah Regional Correspondent for stadiumjourney.com.

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