WhatsApp's "Game of Adetokunbo"

WhatsApp’s “Game of Adetokunbo”

2023

featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo + Hasan Minhaj

Complex / Hypebeast / AdWeek / People / Newsweek

Our names are our identities. They show the world who we are.

But people with cross-cultural backgrounds are often forced to alter, change, adapt, and/or assimilate the names that truly represent all their cultures.
So we turned a game of HORSE into a celebration of names and cultures… because There’s No One Like Us.

 
 

🇳🇬

🇬🇷

there's no one like us

🇮🇳

🇳🇬 🇬🇷 there's no one like us 🇮🇳

 
 

🎬

behind the scenes

🎬 behind the scenes

On a personal note, this project meant a lot to me.

With a name like Natriya Chunapongse, I constantly have to correct people to pronounce my name right. It’s become a habit to make sure that folks learn how to say my full name now, after so many years of shortening my last name to “Chu” or even telling complete strangers to call me “Nat” —because honestly, it was easier that way.
My parents had made a conscious decision when they named me to introduce a western-friendly pronunciation for their American-born kid.
Natriya wasn’t meant to be just a Thai name; it was meant to be able to be an American one too. My parents put that much thought into naming me—just goes to show how truly amazing they are and how special it is to me.

My name represents my family and our cross cultural identity. I am so grateful for my name and I will always be proud of it. this project really hit home for me, to say the least :’)


Credits

WhatsApp 

Esh Ponnadurai, Global Head of Brand, Family of Apps
Vivian Odior, Director of Global Brand Strategy & Integrated Marketing 
Sophie Ho, Global Brand Marketing Lead
Ghada Soufan, Manager of Brand & Integrated Marketing
Jenny Gadd, Production Strategist, PCOE
Vida Habibi, Producer, Brand & Integrated Marketing
Rodrigo Moran, Director, Head of Creative, Family of Apps
Belén Márquez, Global Creative Director
Veit Moeller, Creative Director, Design
Soham Chatterjee, Global Creative
Aleksey Leybin, Designer
Helen Lawrence, Global Head of Culture & Community 
Rio Penabella, Social Marketing Lead
Samantha Jue, Project Manager, Culture and Community

Translation 

Jason Campbell, Chief Creative Officer
Stephanie Cajucom, Creative Director
Dennis Kung, Creative Director
KS Shanti, Senior Creative
Hailey Boerema, Senior Creative
Kofi Lost, Creative
Shrinidhi Vijay, Creative
Courtney Nally, Head of Talent Management
Alison Hill, Head of Production
Alice Cottle, Executive Producer
Ava Rant, Senior Producer
Victoria-Pita Romero, Producer
Natriya Chunapongse, Producer
Paul Rodarte, Business Affairs Manager
Shawn’ta Foye, Production Finance Manager
Susanna Swartley, Head of Client Service
Celeste Toffanello, Group Account Director
Jean-Luc Ford, Account Director
Katelyne Maroney Account Executive
Matt DeSimone, Director of Project Management
Sadie Langemo, Senior Project Manager 
Geoff McHenry, Group Strategy Director 
Jeremy Knight, Strategy Director 
Kathy Kim, Data Strategist Director
Joel Rodriguez, Head of Engagement Planning
Alex Glaum, Senior Context Planner 
Raven Heinz-Garcia, Junior Context Planner

Farm League

Miko Lim, Director
Tim Lynch, Executive Producer
Michael Pizzo , Executive Producer
Maya Owings, Producer
Justin Henning, Director of Photography

Lost Planet

Bruce Herrman, Editor
Rachel Butler, Assistant Editor/Teaser Editor
Casey Cayko, Executive Producer
Steven San Miguel, Color
Andre Sam, GFX
Tim Farrell, Flame
Cory Melious, Mixer from Alt Mix

Human Worldwide

James Dean Wells, Executive Producer
Mike Jurasits, Creative Lead
Daryl Pinsdorf, Composer

The LEDE Company

Christine Su, Partner
Susan Biegacz, SVP
Daniel Rasmussen, Sr Director, PR
Alyssa Kane, Director, PR
Leyla Ozden, Manager, PR