Giannis releases new Whatsapp collab movie 🏀📺

While hashtag #AFCON2023 has all of our attention, I'm bringing a 🏀📺 interlude.

Yesterday, Meta's WhatsApp (the largest messaging app with 2 billion users), released on YouTube and Prime Video & Amazon Studios "Ugo - A Homecoming story".

🇳🇬 The film follows 2x NBA MVP, All-Star & Champion Giannis Antetokounmpo first trip ever to Nigeria, his country of origin.

🫱🏼‍🫲🏾 In 2022, Antetokounmpo became Whatsapp's first-ever brand ambassador.
The same year, Whatsapp released "Naija Odissey" a 12-minute film narrated by Antetokounmpo where he recounted his story.

📲 The "Greak Freek" is not slowing down on content production. Yesterday, he announced the launched of Improbable Media - a production company which will release its first feature-length documentary on Prime Feb 19.

This is interesting for multiple reasons but notably :

1️. WhatsApp' foray into brand content could lead to more partnerships with African personalities & content creators. It is the leading social media app across the continent (with over 90% penetration rate in countries like Nigeria or South Africa). As Whatsapp's Vivian Odior pointed in an interview "(brand content should allow) Whatsapp to have more ownership of what people understood about its brand and what the company is about."

2️. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the first of the current NBA superstars with African origins to be intentional about leveraging his heritage. Let us see if others in the league and other sports follow his lead 👀.