Twitter’s first live High School games featuring Top NBA Prospects

#TheDebut paved the way for X (formerly Twitter) live sports by taking real-time conversation, obsession for stats and super fan loyalty to the next level. Receiving a Cannes Shortlists in 2018, we traveled the country and highlighted top high school basketball athletes and heated rivalries.

Cannes Shortlisted

We recognized conversations about the nation’s top high school talent had traditionally rose during the recruitment process, but what if we could be ahead of that? What did that look like and how could Gatorade do something that’s never been done before? So, we combined the best of sports and social media in partnership with Twitter Live: HS basketball and Twitter where anyone could not only view games, but also participate in real-time in game conversation. We packed our bags and boarded planes heading from coast to coast to create: #TheDebut.

  • Shortlist, Entertainment Lions (Excellence in Audience Engagement or Distribution Strategy for Sports Entertainment): “The Debut” for Gatorade with VML

#TheDebut

Top Athlete Spotlights

In partnership with each high school, we created short films telling each athlete’s backstory and broadcasted them across social ahead of each game. Top talent like RJ Barrett, Zion Williams, Trae Young, Shareef O’Neal and many more with courtside post-game interviews, locker room Q&A and social polls for fan engagement.

A group of people sitting at a table with electronic equipment, some wearing headsets with microphones, in a crowded indoor setting. Several are engaged in conversation or watching, with others using phones or taking notes.

Fomer NBA Player, Baron Davis and Basketball Host Rachel DeMita interview Jabari Parker courtside

A promotional display for Gatorade's virtual broadcast of high school basketball games, showing a smartphone screen with live game footage and social media comments overlaid, emphasizing the future of broadcast sports.
A collage of images showing fans at a sports event, tweets from fans, and promotional text emphasizing a fan-controlled experience, including phrases like 'Fan tweets directed the live cameras,' 'Fans guided the host's conversation,' and 'Fans voted, reacted and shared instantly.' The background features a black-and-white image of a crowd at a stadium, with additional color overlays and social media elements.
Two basketball players jumping for the ball near the basket during a game, with one in a red jersey and the other in a white jersey, and a crowd of spectators in the background.
Two basketball players are on the court, one in a black uniform holding a basketball and another in a red uniform defending. The audience is seated in the background, and a large American flag is displayed on the wall.
A basketball game in progress with players jumping to catch the ball. The players are wearing jerseys that read 'Wildcats' and 'Crossroads,' and there are spectators watching in the background.
Three people posing in front of a backdrop with 'Windward Wildcats' logo, with one man raising a fist, a woman holding her forehead, and another man making a peace sign.