[Vorkunov] Aspiration did discuss using Leonard in a marketing campaign, multiple former employees told The Athletic. The efforts went so far as to create images of Leonard as an offshoot of Marvel’s Groot – Aspiration’s purpose was a promise to plant trees to offset carbon footprints.
Leonard’s deal became a point of confusion for Aspiration executives who spoke to The Athletic. They did not see Leonard as a natural spokesman for the company because of his detached public profile, limited social media presence and what they believed was a lack of fit to market the product.
Aspiration did discuss using Leonard in a marketing campaign, multiple former employees told The Athletic. Executives exchanged emails with members of the Creative Artists Agency on potential concepts. And members of Aspiration’s marketing department were told they could use Leonard to promote the company and to try to find a way to do so, one person with knowledge of Aspiration’s marketing strategy said.
Leonard was, that person said, difficult to build a campaign around. Despite his basketball accomplishments, his wider public profile was small and, in the eyes of Aspiration’s marketing employees, he lacked the notoriety of other NBA stars. That made the naturally introverted Leonard a difficult muse. Some in the department heard that Leonard was into comic books and superheroes, so that was floated as a concept. The efforts went so far as to create images, reviewed by The Athletic, of Leonard as an offshoot of Marvel’s Groot – Aspiration’s purpose was a promise to plant trees to offset carbon footprints.
But after weeks of trying to work with the Marvel concept and brainstorm other ideas, the creative team was told to quit, according to multiple former Aspiration marketing employees.
“Stop thinking about Kawhi,” the person said they were told. “This feels like a dead end.”
The team had been unable to come up with anything worth pursuing.