Chris Paul Takes State Farm Tour Of Houston With Harden, Backstreet Boys
By Barry Janoff
December 25, 2017: During the years he played with the Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul appeared in a series of campaigns for State Farm that included teammate DeAndre Jordan and his faux twin brother — and “State Farm agent” — Cliff Paul.
State Farm needed to re-write the script after Paul was trade to the Houston Rockets this past June, and did so with an initial spot that saw Cliff host a “Going-Away Party” for Chris.
He also offered to find his brother a new insurance agent. Because as the spot relates, “When you are born to assist, you can’t close one door without opening another.”
The storyline continues with Chris in Houston, not only meeting his new State Farm guy, Cole Perez (played by actor Oscar Nunez), but new members of the State Farm roster: Rockets teammates James Harden and Trevor Ariza.
In the new spot, “Grand Tour,” Paul finds that, like brother Cliff, Cole Perez “gets him,” not only finishing sentences but sharing common interests.
As Paul gets acclimated to Houston, he finds that Perez and he both like bowling, barbecue and chili fries and singing along to songs from the 1990s, in particular “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys.
Paul, who has been a State Farm spokesman since 2012, now welcomes Harden and Ariza to the club, first seen getting roadside assistance from State Farm and hitching a ride with Paul and Perez.
Ariza is all in for the tour of Houston, but a scowling Harden is less joyful.
He initially refuses the ride from Paul, then focuses text messaging rather than singing along Paul, Ariza and Perez, who each know the Backstreet Boys tunes rather well.
“Ain't nothin' but a heartache/Tell me why
“Ain't nothin' but a mistake/Tell me why
“I never wanna hear you say/I want it that way.”
"I had a great time," Ariza told the Houston Chronicle. "Chris Paul is a great guy. He came here. He asked if I would like to be involved. I told him absolutely. It was fun. I was a bit nervous at first, but just being around ... James and Chris and the whole State Farm organization made it easy for me."
Support for the campaign includes Internet, social media and an eBay auction "Moving Sale" destination (going live Nov. 11) where “Chris will sell some of his most valuable items and donate all proceeds to storm relief in Houston,” according to State Farm.
The campaign featured a recent community event held in partnership with NBA Cares and the Chris Paul Family Foundation to help rebuild school libraries in Houston and support students and families impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
The campaign is scheduled to run through 2018.
Lead agency is Translation.
State Farm Takes CP3 To Houston, But What About Cliff?
Back to Home Page