Gametime - Why pay more for the same seat?

As the world opens up again, post pandemic, fans are returning to live events. Gametime, the ticketing app, has a new campaign out, just in time for the start of the NBA season. The idea behind the campaign is simple: Gametime finds you the best seats for less—a LOT less than the guy sitting right next to you.

“If you walked into a game or concert, and the price that everybody paid for their ticket was floating over their head, you’d either feel really good about yourself...or like an idiot.” said Agency SOS Creative Director John Kovacevich.

“We want people to ask themselves, ‘Why pay more for the same seat?’” said Gametime’s VP Creative Director Jon Gordon. “With Gametime, you can get 60% off or more, on sports, concerts, and theatre tickets. We even guarantee the lowest price.”

In the new campaign, Gametime fans get the same big event experience, but with more money in their pocket. And the fans sitting next to them—who paid full price—are less than thrilled to find out how much they could have saved with Gametime. 

The ads are Gametime’s first new TV spots since 2019. It’s also the first campaign for Agency SOS, a brand new San Francisco agency. The production company was Where the Buffalo Roam. The campaign starts airing nationally October 18.

Gordon’s team developed the price-comparison visual mnemonic for a series of social ads. His brief to Agency SOS: help take that concept to the next level for new broadcast spots.

“We created these fun, slightly absurd situations that put fans right in the action and beg the question: if you can have the same experience for 60 percent less, why wouldn’t you?” said Kovacevich. “Plus, we did the math and Gametime’s 110% guarantee IS, in fact, more than a hundred.”

“With live events, it’s not always super smart to pay retail price. If someone does, feeling embarrassed or saddened by their choice isn’t necessarily the wrong emotion,” said Gordon.

CREDITS

Client: Gametime
VP, Creative Director: Jon Gordon
Art Director: Jean-Christophe Pope
Chief Marketing Officer: Curt Geen

Agency: Agency SOS
Writer/Creative Director: John Kovacevich

Production / Post Company: Where the Buffalo Roam
Director: Brian L. Perkins
Executive Producer: PJ Koll 
Line Producer: Emma Jubinski
Post Producers: Chris Larsen, Mike Schultz 
Creative Director/VFX Supervisor: Simon Mowbray
DP: Mike Epple 
Gaffer: Inder Mann
Art Director: Bret Lama 
Wardrobe Stylists: Deirdre Scully, Kerri Kerls 
2D/3D Design & Animation: Simon Mowbray, Chris Carmichael
2D Design & Animation: Jess Gibson, Jack Pryor
Flame Artist: Simon Mowbray
Editor: Jonathan Flookes
Assistant Editor: Austin Hobart
Music, Sound Design, and Mix: Joel Hopper, One Union
Casting Director: Kristen Beck

Campaign Launch: October 2021