Introducing Dr. Funk

There’s a hot new TV commercial that’s breaking tomorrow and it’s guaranteed to make your sporting juices flow. It’s a retro-type ad, shown in grainy tone. Not quite in full color, more like in shadowy black-and-white, for that vintage look.

The setting is the Holcombe Rucker playground in New York City — 155th and Frederick Douglass, to be exact. That’s Harlem territory — the breeding ground of those slam-dunking, jive-talking, Afro-haired, skywalking hoop heroes like Earl (The Goat) Manigault, Connie Hawkins, Nate (Tiny) Archibald, and Julius (Dr. J) Erving.

The ad brings you back to August 1975 for a dream-like game between the Uptowns and the West Siders. Hundreds of wide-eyed fans are in the audience, some behind chain-link fences and others perched on trees, straining to catch a piece of the action. It’s a close contest and only three minutes are left. The crowd moans when the West Siders miss an 18-foot jumper from quartercourt — the ball hitting the side of the back rim.

Then come the chants. Dr. Funk, Dr. Funk. The man of the moment emerges from the sidelines, a hood covering his head. He’s got the look of an executioner. He’s wearing flashy black sneakers. He takes off his jacket. Now, the fans see who he is. He looks just like the Toronto Raptors’ star Vince Carter, the Air Apparent, bred in the same North Carolina basketball factory as Michael Jordan. Dr. Funk’s ready to check in.

The Carter lookalike takes a jumper from where the West Siders missed on the previous play. Nothing but net. Quickly, the Uptowns start a fastbreak to get the bucket back. It’s almost a sure two points on a transition layup — until Dr. Funk elevates from behind to grab the ball before it touches the glass. No goaltending. A block and a steal, in a single play. Incredible, Dr. Funk’s in a funk.

Now, the West Siders are in possession. Pee Wee brings up the leather then flips a behind-the-back pass over a forest of defenders. For a second, you wonder whom the pass is for. Suddenly, from behind the defense, Dr. Funk rises — like a rocket off a launch pad. He snaps the ball out of the air, windmills it with his right hand, and stuffs it home. The fans go crazy. They rush the court and mob Dr. Funk. Game over, the West Siders win, and Dr. Funk is the hero.

So what’s this all about?

A few days ago, I watched a sneak preview of the ad at the Nike offices in Makati. Nike marketing manager Colo Ventosa arranged the exclusive showing. Aside from viewing the 30 and 60-second variations of the ad, I was treated to film clips of American Basketball Association (ABA) games which, according to Colo, inspired the making of Dr. Funk. Erving was the standout in the ABA highlights — his Afro was the bushiest, his dunk the snazziest, and his jump the loftiest. The best clips were taken from the 1976 ABA All-Star Weekend at the McNichols Arena in Denver. Erving went up against Artis Gilmore, George Gervin, David Thompson, and Larry Kenon in the Slam Dunk contest. That was when Dr. J ran the length of the court, took off from the foul line, and slammed it home. Jordan would duplicate the feat in the Slam Dunk contest of the National Basketball Association (NBA) years later.

Colo says the ad is "a living document, a testimony to the Big Bang of Hoop Culture at a place where it all started blowing up." It’s a tribute to the Rucker League where hoop urban legends are born.

Why Carter as Dr. Funk? "Had Carter played three decades ago, before all basketball games were televised and highlights ran every night on cable, moves like his dunk over a seven-footer (France’s Frederic Weiss during the Sydney Olympics) would have been the stuff of urban legend," says a Nike press release. "Vince plays with the spirit of Rucker and the funk of 1975 which was the inspiration for this campaign."

The ad, incidentally, airs on Channels 7, 9, 23, and Viva-13 tomorrow night. After tomorrow, the ad will appear in shows like "Sports Unlimited," "Friends," "Gameplan," "Survivor," "Buffy," and "Dawson’s Creek." It’ll get major airplay during the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Samsung Governors Cup semifinals and finals.

Colo adds that Dr. Funk’s story doesn’t end there. There’s more to come as the campaign unravels a series of Dr. Funk episodes. So what’s the pitch? Simple, Colo replies. Carter’s signature basketball shoe, the Nike Shox VC, hits retail stores throughout the country tomorrow. Nike couldn’t have found a more credible endorser than Dr. Funk.