Derrick Rose and Handel: A basketball commercial for Adidas

The pairing of Chicago Bulls basketball player Derrick Rose and the music of George Frideric Handel may not sound like an obvious combination. But if the popularity of a new Adidas commercial is to be believed, Handel and professional basketball are a natural fit.

Adidas recently began airing a basketball spot featuring Rose called “Basketball Is Everything.” The commercial, which was developed by the Santa Monica-based creative agency 180LA, features an orchestral version of Handel’s “Sarabande” from the his Keyboard suite in D minor.

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The music, which Stanley Kubrick famously used as the theme for his 1975 movie “Barry Lyndon,” provides the dramatic soundtrack for the minute-long commercial. A spokeswoman for 180LA said the idea to use the music came up during the editing process, with Oscar-winning editor Kirk Baxter (“The Social Network,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”).

“The team tried several different options. But when Kirk put Handel against picture, it all really came together. Adidas loved it immediately,” said Amy Jacobowitz, PR manager for the creative agency.

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Stacy Wall, an award-winning director of commercials, shot the spot in the L.A. area over a couple of days. (Wall is currently in Tokyo on another project and was unavailable for comment.)

So far, the commercial has racked up nearly 5 million hits on YouTube since being posted on Oct. 1.

180LA said it worked with the Adidas marketing team to come up with the idea and the script. The agency declined to say how much the commercial cost to make.

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