X Games 12

After elevating action sports to an Olympic level within the core fan base, the X Games wanted to reach out to the traditional sports fan and get them to tune in. Expanding beyond the core base is always a difficult proposition in action sports and fringe pursuits. When it comes to the X Games the stakes are even higher, because if the core audience believes the X Games have “sold out” then they don’t watch. And if they don’t watch then the athletes won’t show up to the event because without the core there is no credibility. And without credibility the athletes lose their lifeblood - their endorsements.

So we had to walk the line. We had to make the football, baseball, and NASCAR fan understand the epic athleticism of the X Games in a way that an insider would appreciate. And to do so we needed to erase the stereotype that X athletes are just bombastic members of the Jackass tribe. So we celebrated the qualities that X athletes embody - exhilaration, perception, focus, and courage - the same qualities that traditional sports fans admire in their own sports heroes. The style of the writing in the campaign gave a thoughtfulness to the sports and athletes that hadn’t been expressed before, and the visuals brought an engaging dimension that immediately made the work stand out.

ACD/CW: Kristina Slade
ACD/AD: Rodrigo Butori
CD: Court Crandall
Illustrator: Linn Olofsdotter
Animation: Psyop