Fast-casual restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., headquartered in Newport Beach, has marked the recent start of the National Basketball Association season with a new national TV ad featuring two-time, back-to-back NBA All-Star Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The “Real Food for Real Athletes” campaign includes a 30-second television spot that is airing on broadcast TV and social media for a limited time at the beginning of the NBA season, a Chipotle spokesperson told Times of San Diego.
Narrated by Edwards, the simple, no-frills spot showcases how the guard had to get “real” about his training habits and diet. The spot begins with Edwards entering a basketball gym with a bag of Chipotle take-out. It concludes with the player commenting about the new 2024-2025 season, “Something about this season, man, it just feels different.”
In a statement, Chipotle said that Edwards was called out by his teammates in 2022 for his eating habits.
“Despite being one of basketball’s most promising young stars, Edwards had been known to snack and visit fast-food restaurants frequently,” the statement said. “Fast-forward two years, the guard has totally transformed his diet with an assist from Chipotle, helping fuel a memorable summer and heightened expectations for this season.”
“Nutrition has become super important for me, and I’ve realized I need to prioritize eating healthier to get to the top of my game and have longevity in the league,” Edwards said in a statement. “No matter what city I’m in, I know I can rely on Chipotle to get a quick and delicious bowl that keeps me on track.”
The Chipotle spokesperson said a new menu item called the Anthony Edwards Bowl will be available for a limited time on the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com. The item features half chicken, half steak, brown rice, fresh tomato salsa, roasted chili-corn salsa and lettuce.
“Ant (Anthony Edwards) is a prime example of how real food can play a pivotal role in elevating an athlete’s performance,” said Chris Brandt, Chipotle chief brand officer.
“His passion for Chipotle and what we stand for further emphasizes that our food-with-integrity principles make our restaurants a great choice to help athletes reach their fitness goals.”
Previously for its “Real Food for Real Athletes” campaign, Chipotle teamed up with sports stars, including volleyball player Sara Edwards and soccer player Sophia Smith. The spokesperson said this is the first time a professional basketball player has been featured in a national Chipotle TV ad.
With more than 120,000 employees, Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) operates more than 3,500 restaurants in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Kuwait.
Cox Communications‘ YurView to Air SDSU Aztecs, San Diego Clippers Basketball
Cox Communications’ YurView Network has announced it will air all 24 San Diego Clippers home games for the 2024-2025 season played at Oceanside’s new Frontwave Arena.
Also airing on YurView will be four regular season, non-conference home games for the San Diego State University Aztecs men’s basketball team. The four games are not included in SDSU’s national television package.
Remaining SDSU Aztecs games at Viejas Arena on YurView include: Tuesday, Nov. 12 vs. Occidental Tigers; Saturday, Dec. 7 vs. University of San Diego Toreros; Wednesday, Dec. 11 vs. California Baptist Lancers. Games are scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
YurView Network is available on Channel 4 in San Diego for Cox and Spectrum customers, as well as Channel 4 in Santa Barbara and Channel 118 in Orange County and Palos Verdes.
In addition to being carried on YurView, the games will also be streamed on the Mountain West Network here.
Steve Quis will handle play-by-play duties for the YurView games, a Cox spokesperson told Times of San Diego.
The San Diego Clippers, part of the 31-team NBA G League, are a minor league affiliate of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.
Originally founded in the 2017-2018 season, the Clippers’ G League team played seven seasons in Ontario, Calif., before relocating over the summer to the Frontwave Arena for the 2024-25 season.
The Clippers are coached by Paul Hewitt, who led Georgia Tech to an appearance in the 2004 national championship game.
In 2022, the San Diego Clippers were crowned G League Winter Showcase Champions. During the Los Angeles Clippers’ 2023-2024 season, 12 of the 18 players on the roster spent time in the G League during their career.
Previously known as the NBA Development League (D League), the NBA G League was renamed as part of a multi-year partnership with Gatorade.
The next San Diego Clippers home games on YurView include: Sunday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m., vs. the Rip City Remix; Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. vs. the Valley Suns. Live streams also will be available on the Cox Contour TV app.
“With YurView televising all 24 home games for the 2024-25 season, the Clippers don’t just have a new home in San Diego. They also have a local television home where sports fans can cheer on their new team,” said Ingo Hentschel, market vice president, Cox Communications.
The final televised San Diego Clippers home game will air on March 20, 2025.
Frontwave is also home to the San Diego Sockers of the Major Arena Soccer League and San Diego Strike Force of the Indoor Football League. A statement said the arena is powered by a high-capacity fiber network from Cox Business which will enhance the connected guest and fan experience.
Ad Agency ‘The Shipyard’ Wins Airport Authority Account
The Shipyard, a Columbus, Ohio-based advertising agency with California offices in San Diego, Newport Beach and Sacramento, has announced it has been named agency-of-record for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, which oversees the operations, management, and development of the San Diego International Airport.
A statement said that The Shipyard was selected by the Airport Authority as its strategic brand AOR following a formal review. The agency said it will assist with creative and media duties, including a series of events promoting the opening of a new terminal in 2025.
The Shipyard also said it has been assigned expanded scopes of work, including paid media planning and creative support, for longtime existing clients Greater Zion Convention & Tourism Office in Utah as well as Worthington Enterprises, a designer and manufacturer of building products, consumer products and sustainable energy solutions.
“The wins that The Shipyard has achieved this year really all comes down to our people,” said Rick Milenthal, founder and chief executive officer at The Shipyard.
“We have built such a wonderful, talented team and our new client partners share our core belief of engineering brand love. Our people will keep pushing the boundaries of what brand love can do as we continue on our upward trajectory.”
1090-AM Flips to Oldies and Wolfman Jack
Mexico-based radio station XEPRS 1090-AM — which switched in August to Spanish-language, Catholic church programming after four years with a sports-talk format as The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio — is now featuring oldies music, including the voices of legendary disc jockeys.
The new lineup for the Rosarito-based station, with a daytime, 77,000-watt signal that reaches throughout Southern California, includes digitally re-mastered broadcasts of renowned radio personalities Wolfman Jack, Charlie Tuna, MG Kelly, El Chignon and The Real Don Steele.
The broadcasts are distributed by Talent Farm, a Seattle-based radio industry consulting firm offering talent coaching and production services.
A statement said the format change aligns with the station’s celebration of its 85th anniversary, tracing its origins back to Nov. 6, 1939.
Station manager Marc Paskin said in a statement, “1090-AM XEPRS is a true blast from the past. We’re thrilled to bring back the voices and music that defined an era, and no one embodies that better than Wolfman Jack. It’s some of the world’s greatest DJs, playing the world’s greatest oldies. It really is radio the way it was meant to be heard.”
Radio Insight, an industry trade news outlet, reported that Paskin has previously operated a number of stations over the past decade, including Pot Rock “Smokin 94.1” KBUD-FM in Denver, Oldies “104.5 MeTV” KXXP-FM in Portland, and 1470-AM WWNN in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Robert Weston Smith, known as Wolfman Jack, passed away at age 57 on July 1, 1995. He is buried in Belvidere, North Carolina.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.
