Introducing, Jump Ball.

A series for the culture — by the culture. The project uses visual stories to display the intersection of basketball, fashion, and various ethnic influences. Jump Ball presents the common thread these important facets have in connection to the diaspora.

Produced by Sunday School Creative, Jump Ball highlights an experience through a cultural lens, showing the common characteristics between the game and those that love the game. Jump Ball explores the unique relationship between the game of basketball and the African Diaspora, particularly in North America.

Producer: Andrew Somuah/Sunday Schoool Creative

Photography by: Joshua Kissi

Press: Uninterrupted, It’s Nice That, The Africa Center

Featuring the iconic songstress Renée Neufville and world renowned dancers Tamisha Guy and Aubree Nelson.

As part of an appreciation for Black joy and love among Black women, this feature short titled “Groove”, shows the beautiful representation of Black sisterhood through the art of dance.

Director: Andrew Somuah

DOP: Lionel T. Djaowe

1st AC: Odilon Bassan

Steadicam Operator: Paulius Kontijevas

1st AD: Karl Nelson

Talent #1: Tamisha Guy

Talent #2: Aubree Nelson

Talent #3: Renée Neufville

Talent #4: Logan Nelson

Art Director: Josiel Correa

Gaffer: Nelson Nelson

Photographer: Jared Soares

Editor: Andrew Garcia

Colorist: Ben Federman

Boom Operator: Henry French

Make-up: Zarielle Washington

PA: Nii Smills

The Brief: As part of Just Women's Sports' Legends Collection drop, we were tasked with creating the brand's first content series centered around the Legends collection featuring legendary athletes Sheryl Swoopes and Brandi Chastain.

We wanted to speak directly to the world-class athletes these women are, but importantly, give an in-depth look into their upbringings and the pivotal moments in their careers and lives which made them who they are.

Responsibilities: Creative Producer and Creative Direction.

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Director: Starr Nathan

Talents: Sheryl Swoopes and Brandi Chastain

Director of Photography: Lionel T. Djaowe

Director of Production: Pierre Roache

Supervising Producer: Kat Maniatakis

Creative Producer/Creative Direction: Andrew Somuah

Line Producer: Ryan Lee

Creative Strategist: Karim Alammuri

Production Company: StarrPower Entertainment

Editor: Lionel T. Djaowe

1st AC: Ryan O' Donnell and Alex Hernandez

Camera Operator: Alex Hernandez, Ryan O' Donnell and Lionel T. Djaowe

MUA: Casey Champagne and Andre Narro

Gaffer: Reece Moffett, Jason Preddock

Sound: Jeanetta Brantley and Matt Jepsen

Photography: Ashy Kebba and Marlee Nicolos

Production Assistants: Corey Carlos and Deante Mass

In collaboration with Mercedes Benz, I had the opportunity to lead Waze’s first global athlete experience featuring the incomparable tennis legend Roger Federer.

From a branding perspective, this program is conceived around RF’s love for traveling, style and Mercedes Benz as a brand. In the app, users can ride with RF and choose between two cars which are the Roger’s Maybach ( Maybach Cabriolet s650) and the Roger’s G-Wagon (Mercedes G-Wagon).

Responsibilities: Lead Creative Producer x Copywriter

Check out the BTS to the experience here

In collaboration with the 2023 Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, the ongoing series, Jump Ball, had the pleasure of being exhibited in the AGO as part of the “Feels Like Home” exhibition curated by creative agency Sunday School.

Fans and visitors alike could explore the images that detail the relationship between basketball and the African Diasporic communities and see the beautiful images captured by brilliant photographers such as Joshua Kissi and O’shane Howard.

Also, to highlight, as part of the 2023 Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, the exhibition extended with public billboards which featured images from Jump Ball at the intersections of Lansdowne Avenue at Dundas Street West and College Street in Toronto’s west end.

As the lead producer, I directed creative development and production, collaborating closely with Franchise Mag and VSCO. We aimed to authentically capture NBA players, highlighting candid moments and camaraderie. Additionally, I played a pivotal role in introducing the new VSCO (AV4) preset, elevating our visual storytelling for the activation. Together, we ignited enthusiasm worldwide, celebrating the essence of the game during the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend.

Furthermore, I led social strategy, crafting posting schedules and curating content across platforms. Leveraging my deep understanding of audience engagement, I devised a strategic approach to maximize our reach and resonance. Additionally, I spearheaded copywriting efforts, crafting compelling narratives to accompany our captivating visuals, and fostering connections between basketball and contemporary culture.

With meticulous planning and collaborative efforts, our vision came to fruition, allowing us to truly celebrate the spirit of the game during the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend.

Responsibilities:

Lead Creative (NBPA Side): Andrew Somuah

Lead Producer: Andrew Somuah

Social Strategist: Andew Somuah

An awards show voted by the players —- for the players.

I had the pleasure of leading the copywriting efforts, creative ideation, and social strategy for The Players Voice Awards powered by Uninterrupted. In addition to spearheading the strategic direction and execution of the 2018 PVA's launch campaign on behalf of the NBPA, I was integral in conceptualizing and naming the award categories. Tasked with amplifying the #PlayersVoice initiative across all NBPA brand social platforms, the NBPA collaborated closely with the creative team and partnered with media powerhouse Uninterrupted.

Together, we orchestrated a captivating halftime show during Game 3 of the NBA finals, which featured the work of esteemed digital artists commissioned to craft bespoke art pieces for each award category. Leveraging the buzz generated by this unique showcase, we strategically unveiled the award announcements and accompanying artwork across major social platforms including Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.

This multifaceted approach not only elevated the visibility of the Players Voice Awards but also engaged audiences and emphasized the essence of player-driven recognition within the basketball community.

Watch the halftime show here

Responsibilities: Copywriting, Social and Creative Strategy

Idea: Through various creative mediums, this campaign will exhibit the mindset, resilience, and dedication it takes day in and day out to be great, but more importantly, explore the mental process of the “Flow State.”

Popularized by psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jeanne Nakamura, the flow state describes feeling fully immersed in whatever you are doing.

With that in focus and Jordan Brand’s iconic commercials serving as a backdrop, this project focuses on providing perspective and showing through different moments what it means to be totally absorbed by and concentrate on something with no distraction.

Director & EP: Andrew Somuah

Director of Photography: Russ Geltman

1st AC & Gaffer: Steven Shaw

Creative Talent: Kwabena Brenya

Photography: Kenny St. George

Editor/Color: Clark St. Collective

Art Direction: Josiel Correa

VO: Craig Mitchell

Production Assistant: Victor Rios

Sound: Epidemic Sound

Special Thanks: Riverside Gym, Rod Gaines Johnnie Izquierdo, and Floyd Thorne.

Company: Wieden + Kennedy

Role: Creative Direction

Ask: As part of the 2022 brief for the 2022 McDonald’s All-American Game, our team was tasked with coming up with a creative way to revamp the 2022 McDonald’s All-American certificates given to this year’s class.

Idea: Tapping into the culture, we wanted to create a certificate that was about the celebration of the past and present, so we worked with world-renowned artist Charly Palmer, to create a whole new look that speaks to the history of McDAAG.

The result? : A fully redefined certificate that highlights the global impact of the McDonald’s All-American Game, and the iconic players who have graced the stage through the artistic viewpoint of Charly Palmer.

Video component: But we didn’t want to stop there, we wanted to give a birds-eye view into the creation process from Charly’s point of view. Through a standard 2 camera set-up, we created a quick and snackable video for Tik-Tok which documented this process.

Most NFL players always have a playbook nearby. For New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett, it’s his animation notebooks that are never far from his grasp. In this Game Break, Martellus, a published children’s book author and budding animator, shows his off-the-field passion for art, illustration and animation.

Producer: Andrew Somuah

Helping lay down the early groundwork for what would be known today as the Players’ Tribune Podcast Network, I worked as a producer on The Rematch with Etan Thomas show in which my responsibilities included: Writing and editing scripts, research and ideating new concepts.

Creative Lead/Producer: Andrew Somuah

During my time at The Source Magazine, I acted as a writer and editor. I was responsible for contributing stories that covered the vast world of Hip Hop culture and in charge of covering sports from the Black perspective.

Writer and Editor: Andrew Somuah

Before he was an NBA rising star in the league, Devin Booker was a rookie learning the ropes from veteran Tyson Chandler.

For the first season of Rookie/Vet, my roles included being the lead researcher as well as a copywriter.

Producer: Andrew Somuah