MARCH MADNESS
A Cinderella Story
March Madness is where fairytales are written in real time. In a matter of weeks, anything can happen. Underdogs rise, giants fall, and the national stage becomes a proving ground for every player and program. With that, our creative direction was clear to tell the story of the “Road to the Final Four” not just as a competition, but as a journey out of a storybook.
We leaned into that idea literally.
Designers
CD - Chris Poppleton
AD - Eric King
Alexandra Tobia
Michelle Ma
Chris Francis
3D - Anthony Baker
3D - Jonathan Davis
Year
2022
Early Ideas
Core tournament visuals like brackets, nets, trophies, and confetti anchored the world, but it was the players who brought it to life. Every pose, every motion was designed to feel dynamic and suspended in time, intentional.
To bridge classic fairytale with modern flair, we introduced a custom 3D glass sneaker—an elegant, unexpected nod to the Cinderella story. Collaborating closely with 3D artists, we built layers of visual depth such as pull tabs, textured paper, subtle creases. Each detail helped bring the pop-up world to life.
The results showed a visually immersive campaign that treated March Madness not just as a tournament, but as a tale worth telling, page by page, game by game.
