It is almost impossible to overstate Anthony Edwards' cultural significance at this point. Minnesota Timberwolves fans have known of Ant's talent since his rookie year, but the talented guard has slowly built himself into one of the most relevant figures in the entire NBA.
Becoming a superstar at both ends of the floor, Edwards is earning his way into best in the league conversations in short order. He has already been featured in Netflix's Starting 5 documentary, and his basketball shoes are becoming an icon for not just on-court, but off-court fashion as well.
Ant's popular commercials through Adidas have been classic to this point, and his latest one is yet another extremely on-brand representation of his personality. Premiering the week of Halloween, the ad features kids sitting around a campfire, telling scary stories.
In the stories they tell, the "monster" they speak of is Edwards. "They call him Ant Man. The scariest player in the game." "One time, he dunked on someone so hard, they disappeared ... from social media. Never to be heard from again."
Anthony Edwards' new Adidas ad is very on-brand
This is a humorous and clever way to adapt a player's game to the classic "scary stories around a campfire" theme. But as the ad goes on, it gets better. The creators really tapped into Ant's personality when writing the script.
"I've heard that he collects every rim he's broken. He's probably broken more than Shaq." "Who?" Now this is an exchange that is sure to make even some younger fans cringe. Being young enough to not know Shaq is certainly a scary thought for NBA fans.
"They say every Halloween, the dog in him comes out to search for his next poster. And if you listen real close, you can hear him bark." Edwards then proceeds to make his grand entrance to the sound of a barking dog. All the kids disappear, replaced by Ant sitting in his own chair by the fire. "I heard, Ant Man finna have an MVP season," Edwards said. "Take his dogs to the championship. Believe that."
This ad is as on-brand as it is funny and clever. Edwards is certainly becoming a scary, championship-caliber player. This kind of themed ad that showcases his new shoe was a hit from its inception, and finding a way to end it with his signature phrase from Adidas, "Believe That," was the cherry on top.