Role: Creative Director Agency: The Robot Company
Google Pixel x NBA: “Built Different”
To make Pixel’s “Only Phone Engineered by Google” resonate with NBA fans, our team created Built Different—a campaign that connected the Pixel 8’s elite capabilities with the unreal skills of hoops culture. We brought in comedian and Team Pixel member Druski to chase his far-fetched NBA dreams, using the phone’s features to fake it ’til he makes it as a player, stylist, commentator, and more. What started as a tongue-in-cheek journey quickly turned into a full-season takeover.
The Declaration
The Sit-Down
The Hoops Mixtape
We launched Druski’s NBA dreams on social with a dramatic “draft declaration” post, followed by a Taylor Rooks interview and a mixtape shot entirely on Pixel 8—with cameos from Jimmy Butler, Kelsey Plum, and LaVar Ball. Then we took over TV. Directed by Dave’s Tony Yacenda, a five-spot campaign imagined Druski navigating the league in every offbeat role imaginable, capped with a season trailer on Opening Night. Each spot was a showcase for Pixel’s features, cleverly embedded in the chaos.
Across the season, “Built Different” showed up everywhere—from Druski training with Lethal Shooter, to styling Jalen Green at GQ’s MOTY party, to teaming with Ernie Johnson as an on-air analyst. At NBA All-Star Weekend, we brought fans into the experience with the Pixel Combine—a three-day event where they could live their own draft-day fantasy, powered by Pixel. With dunk posters, photo hacks, coaching clinics, and a Lil Yachty concert, fans weren’t just watching the campaign—they were part of it.
