• by Les Luchter , Yesterday

Fans who had expected to see Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo still on the court at this point in the NBA playoffs can instead catch him in Huggies diaper commercials.

The two-time league MVP, subject of much speculation about his future following the Bucks’ recent first-round playoff exit (See today’s New York Times story, “What’s next for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks?”), co-stars in a heartwarming campaign for Huggies’ Little Movers toddler line -- featuring a TV spot in which his 16-month-old daughter Eva steals the show, if not the ball.

This marks Huggies’ latest campaign for updated diapers, part of Kimberly-Clark CEO Mike Hsu’s stated strategy of innovations designed to “deliver better products at lower cost.”

It comes on the heels of a poop blowout blitz for the Little Snugglers premium-priced line and a funny campaign starring “tough guy” actor Danny Trejo for the budget-priced Snug & Dry lines.

Set to the beat of Ludacris’ “Stand Up” with its lyrics, “When I move, you move,” the ad features Antetokounmpo making moves on a basketball court as Eva mimics his actions -- eventually even executing a couple of dunks (with Dad’s help).

In addition to the hero :60, the campaign includes two :15 cutdowns, one directly referencing Little Mover’s “HuggFit 360” feature, the other its “double grip strips.”

The HuggFit 360 is a slip-on diaper said to have “double the stretch,” while the “double grip strips” are featured in a Little Movers traditional diaper.

Launched last week, the campaign is set to run for about a year, with media spanning linear TV, connected TV, online video, online audio, YouTube, social media, Reddit, search, and retail media, both offsite and onsite. Specific TV networks in the media mix include NBC, ABC, Univision, Telemundo, Disney Jr, and BET.

Huggies tells Marketing Daily that Little Movers’ target audience is parents and caregivers of children aged 6-24 months, and that the campaign is also targeting basketball fans.

The campaign goal is three-fold, the brand explains: drive awareness and consideration for both Huggfit 360 and the double grip strips among the parents and caregivers; retain Huggies buyers as their babies grow; and attract brand switchers.  Double Grip Strips, among parents of children 6 – 24 months, retain current Huggies Buyers as baby grows, and attract diaper switchers.

Leo Chicago and Spark Foundry, also involved with the other Huggies campaigns, serve respectively as creative agency and media agency.

In addition to the ad campaign, Huggies said it is donating $100,000 worth of diapers to the Milwaukee Diaper Mission, a cause for which Antetokounmpo, who has played for the Bucks during his entire 12-season career, has long been a supporter.

The Milwaukee nonprofit is part of the National Diaper Bank Network, to which Huggies has donated nearly 300 million diapers and wipes since its launch in 2011.