With the playoffs just around the corner, the NBA world is gearing up for yet another year of intense matchups and on-court action. While teams prepare for the play-in tournament, a particular company has joined hands with the Phoenix Suns legend Charles Barkley for an exciting new project that was recently launched as part of the ad campaign for the playoffs. Interestingly, 60-year-old Barkley is not the only athlete who will be the face of this new campaign.

With just four more spots available in the playoffs, eight teams are now gearing up for one last chance to remain in the championship run. The 2023 play-in tournament includes LA Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves and the New Orleans Pelicans vs OKC Thunder in the Western Conference. Whereas, the Chicago Bulls will take on the Toronto Raptors and the Atlanta Hawks will face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference.

Charles Barkley reconnects with his past-self

Billion-dollar worth gambling company FanDuel has launched a new ad campaign ahead of the playoffs. The official sports betting partner of the league roped in Hall of Famer Charles Barkley for their latest initiative. Interestingly, it also involved a younger version of the basketball legend. In the ad released by the company, Barkley is seen conversing with his younger self from the 90s called ‘Young Chuck’.

The company named their latest campaign ‘Think like a player’. To make the ad interesting, FanDuel also used deep fake technology to ‘revive’ Chuck Barkley from the 1990s. In the short clip, the NBA player-turned-analyst encouraged users to bet on their favorite players by thinking like professional athletes.

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As per the official website of FanDuel, the company ‘will offer all customers unique betting markets’. Furthermore, new customers will also receive special offers while signing up in addition to several more exciting offers.

Gambling company adopts a creative approach

According to Andrew Sneyd, EVP of Marketing, the purpose of the campaign is to bring more recognition toward the company by flaunting their creative skills. He stated that the campaign would ‘cement FanDuel’s place in the conversation of brands’. Furthermore, he added that it would also ‘continue to give us the opportunity to flex our creative muscle’.

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The spots will reportedly play for the entire duration of the conference finals and conclude on the day of the 2023 NBA Finals.