The Cleveland Cavaliers. Few teams are closer to or more beloved by HOMAGE (and its fans). Long before LeBron’s letter announcing his return to Northeast Ohio in 2014, the company had been carrying on its proverbial shoulders Cleveland’s hope for a championship season. Then came the Cavs’ excruciating defeat to Golden State in the 2015 NBA Finals, which was especially devastating since HOMAGE had just secured a Cavs license prior to the postseason. So in the spring of 2016, when it looked like the fantasy could become a reality, yet again, HOMAGE was the definition of All In.
From early spring through that final summer game when the Cavs clinched the decade’s ultimate comeback-revenge story, HOMAGE was there, igniting the CLE diehard fanbase and, of course, celebrating. Celebrating the minor victories, momentum shifts, relief wins, and milestones that ended with Cleveland’s first championship in more than 50 years. Celebrating with one-off tees, special promotions, last-minute releases, capsule collections and the crowning achievement of “Earned” championship gear. The unforgettable journey even included LeBron, Kevin Love and the rest of the Cavs team embracing #TeamHOMAGE by wearing our wrestling tees to troll Golden State and the media during the Finals rematch against the Warriors.
Due to the NBA approval process, all creative assets had to be submitted a week in advance of their prospective launch, meaning to have marketing ready in the chance the Cavs won the 2016 Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, it had to be created while the Cavs were down 0-2 to the Golden State Warriors in the finals. Additionally, because of the NBA rights HOMAGE was granted, we were only allowed to directly reference NBA events that were at least 15 years in the past. The constraints made writing copy about a championship win a week in the future an exercise in linguistic acrobatics.
Creative Director: Anthony Trimpe Copywriter: Sean Rosenberg Graphic Designers: Justin Nottke, Colin Rigsby Photographer: Brad Weller