Topping the list of “things I never thought I’d write”, Sony Pictures has partnered with the NBA to promote the upcoming Gran Turismo feature film in the United States.
The new ad campaign tipped off this week with a commercial during the first game of the NBA Finals. It features some of the league’s biggest stars, including the Orlando Magic’s Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero, the Chicago Bulls’ NBA All-Star Zach Lavine, and the Houston Rockets’ Boban Marjanovic, the tallest player in the NBA.
Opening the commercial are Banchero and Zavine, playing Gran Turismo 7 in two-player split-screen mode, when Marjanovic suggests they should try racing cars for real. Zavine likes the idea as an “off-season challenge” and the three head to the race track. After meeting with Gran Turismo stars Orlando Bloom, David Harbour, and Archie Madekwe, the basketball stars quickly find out they might be in over their heads.
The skit suggests the commercial could be the first in a series to be released throughout the 2023 NBA finals, which consist of up to seven games between June 1 and June 18.
Gran Turismo fans watching Game 1 of the Finals were also quick to notice that, in addition to the new commercials, the movie was also being promoted with court-side advertisements. Considering the unexpected reactions, the new campaign could be a slam dunk.
Users in the GTPlanet Forums have also noticed the Gran Turismo movie trailer is being promoted during movie previews in some theaters around the world ahead of its release on August 11, 2023.
As we have noted, that date falls exactly in line with the upcoming Gran Turismo World Series event in Amsterdam, so there should be plenty of hype for the new film through the rest of the summer.
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