NBA ROLLS OUT FINALS MASHUPS

As the NBA conference finals wind down and the 2010 championship finals take shape, the league has rolled out the last piece of its "Amazing Is..." postseason campaign which was pulled together with the help of DJ Steve Porter and the NBA's ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

As in previous spots, Porter took audio clips from star players at key moments in NBA history and created mashups under different themes for different stages of the playoffs -- “Belief” for the first round, “Unity” for the conference semifinals, “the Journey” for the conference finals, and “the Dream” for the finals.

"The goal that we had was to bring forth our players passion and personalities into our spots," said Danny Meiseles, NBA Entertainment's svp and executive producer of production, programming and broadcasting. "We agreed that this was a great expression of our game through our players -- cutting up sound bites to create a specific theme of a spot."

GATORADE EVOLVES

Tonight, Gatorade will introduce its G Series product line to consumers with a 60-second spot, "Gatorade Has Evolved," from TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles. Then, the brand team will collectively hold its breath and hope for the best -- or at least something better than the head-scratching and sales slides that came after the "What Is G?" introduction. Here it is:

The spot, breaking during the NBA playoffs, will set the stage for the most massive overhaul in the brand's history, as it shifts to a lineup that includes products for before, during and after activity. (Also notable, you can see the word "Gatorade" a few times -- if only on some of the old-timey bottles.) Whether that message will resonate with key targets -- the G Series' core target is the 13- to 17-year-old high-school athlete, while G Series Pro's target is the 16- to 24-year-old who is in the business of being athletic -- or simply puzzle them has yet to be seen.

For its part, Gatorade believes that athletes will embrace the new approach. Sarah Robb-O'Hagan, chief marketing officer at Gatorade, recently told Ad Age that "the average consumer is already consuming during the before-and-after occasion." But getting them to shill out cash for three separate beverages might be another thing entirely.

The brand plans to follow the first spot with a second 60-second spot, "Before, During, After" in early May. Three 15-second spots are planned to highlight each product in the G Series.

LEBRON JAMES BY JONATHAN MANNION

In honor of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers Championship quest this playoff season. We would live to feature a photo by "The Dean's List" family member Jonathan Mannion. As you can see King James looks focused in this pic. Let's hope he maintains this focus until he is holding up the Larry Obrien trophy at season's end.

"FOCUS" :: NBA PLAYOFF'S PROMO

I HOPE THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS ARE FOCUSED THIS SEASON TO WIN THE TITLE. THE VICTORY WOULD BE EVEN SWEETER IF IT'S AGAINST THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS.