Giving your fantasy football team a name sets the tone for a winning season.
Well ... not really, but comedian J.B. Smoove and New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. act like that's the case, anyway in Lenovo's new fantasy football campaign.
The ad starts with Smoove taking on the role of Professor Dean Cornelius Ratatat in Lenovo's Fantasy Online College, scratching his nails across the chalkboard to get the lecture hall's attention.
"Listen up! A lot of you have these plain old fantasy team names, and the people who created the F.O.C. don't go for plain and normal," Ratatat says in Lenovo's clip, which hit the Internet on Monday (September 14). "I'm going to give you a name that pops. You give me the name of your favorite player and I'll give you a team name."
With that, Ratatat surveys his students, asking for player names. One says Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs star running back, and the professor fires back, "Charles in Charge." Another says Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and Ratatat answers, "The More, DeMaryius." To New York Jets wideout Eric Decker, Ratatat responds, "All Hands on Decker."
The twist comes when Beckham Jr. steps foot inside the lecture hall, asking the professor to create a moniker based off his name. When Ratatat asks Beckham how do people know him, he leaps back and catches a Lenovo laptop, reenacting his unbelievable backwards leaping reception from last season in what many regard as the greatest NFL catch of all time.
Ratatat tries to convince the budding superstar that he's more than just one big catch and proceeds to rattle off several fantasy team names and different character gimmicks equipped with hilarious dances — none of which fly with the wide receiver.
The hijinx also includes a cameo from Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray. Pretty funny stuff and a definite touchdown for Lenovo.
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