Title: X Games Detroit Bid Trailer
Client: City of Detroit
Agency: The Work Inc
The Brief
If you are unfamiliar with the x games, then just imagine it as the Olympics for people who can do the most daring and most exhilarating tricks on skateboards, rollerblades, and bikes. Not only is this an event that is sure to raise some hairs on your neck, but also it is a huge economic revenue stream that claims to have over 35.4 million attendees turning up for the event yearly1. The city of Detroit has been in desperate need of new ways to show its livelihood since its slump into poverty has skyrocketed the city's crime rate. Detroit wants the X games bid for two major reasons. One is because the X games brings a large population and enough attention that could attract new business boosting the economy, and the second is because the town wants a better reputation than being a place empty of excitement.
The Insight: A misunderstood athlete creates his/her own dream
Explanation
I was once told that if you can't compete with what others have, then find something that the competitors can't do (ie Verizon vs Tmobile). This is exactly what Detroit has to offer. Detroit is a city that is made almost entirely out of abandoned warehouses and concrete jungles that resemble something of an apocalyptic landscape, which almost all x games sports crave when looking for creative ways to preform. In street sports, athletes dream about what you can do with the given terrain and how you can use it to achieve daring results. By portraying this endless creative possibility, the audience is captivated by seeing themselves as the creators, in which making the event strongly tied to the idea of X games brand. The Work Inc uses Detroit's run down industrial city as a point of creativity to the X game sports making it almost seem like a city that was built by these people. The X games may be only 17 years running so far, but the impact of the sport still inspires people to believe in the unbelievable.
Kinda makes me want to take up skateboarding again!
ENJOY
Reference
1: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-8591851
