• by Larissa Faw , January 13, 2017

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and The Marketing Arm are introducing a new ad campaign timed to coincide with the Chinese New Year on Saturday January 28.

Pro basketball has a huge fan base in China.

As part of the basketball league’s global-marketing platform “This Is Why We Play," the "NBA Chinese New Year Secret Envelope" spot features a young Chinese boy who receives a special NBA red envelope from his grandfather.

Upon opening it, Houston Rockets’ James Harden, the Brooklyn Nets’ Jeremy Lin, the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis pop out as miniature paper versions of themselves playing the game.

It's all intended to serve as a way to welcome the Year of the Rooster.

The spot runs from January 12th through February 12th across all NBA platforms, including NBA.com/China and social media assets.

The spot has already garnered more than 54,996 views on YouTube.

Although the players don't physically appear in the ads, they participated in the making of the spot and are chosen based on their global appeal and popularity, says the agency.

The NBA has created Chinese New Year spots for the past three seasons: 2017, 2016, and 2015. The Marketing Arm has produced these holiday-themed spots.