Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin is a marketing wizard. For years the dynamic scorer and rebounder worked in Los Angeles for the not-quite-good-enough LA Clippers — and Griffin charm, sense of humor and proximity to Hollywood combined to make him one of the most popular celebrity athlete endorsers in the business. Griffin wore a cape and played a Superman-like character — even though Griffin can fly without a cape — in hilarious ads for KIA.
Now that Griffin is in the Motor City of Detroit, he’s grown a cool beard and adapted to his tougher, more workaday environment. Griffin has embraced the Midwest and it has embraced his talent and work ethic in return. (About that Blake Griffin work ethic? His father was a coach, ’nuff said.) And in his new role, Griffin is endorsing a new kind of company. He just announced his partnership with Flagstar Bank, a mortgage lender and branch-based bank that fits perfectly with the new Detroit-based Blake Griffin. With assets of more than $18 billion Flagstar “operates 160 branches in Michigan, Indiana, California, Wisconsin, and Ohio and provides a full complement of products and services for consumers and businesses.”
The first ad for Flagstar features images of Griffin as a female voice intones abut how success is built. “It doesn’t just happen overnight,” the Flagstar narrator says. “it takes time, dedication, commitment.” She continues, echoing what every success story knows and what Griffin’s father doubtless told him repeatedly: “True craftsmen work tirelessly with their head, their hands and their heart.” Then she delivers the tagline Success Is Crafted. It’s what both Flagstar Bank, Blake Griffin, and the Pistons know. The Pistons are headed to the Eastern Conference playoffs this season to try to craft an NBA title for themselves.
proud to announce my partnership with @FlagstarBank. #successiscrafted pic.twitter.com/kC9luNXtMI
— Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin23) March 11, 2019
