This American Family Insurance commercial where Kevin Durant surprises an unsuspecting boy, reinforces the importance of paying it forward, faith and dreams. In it, 11-year-old James believes he is in LA to share how his single mother supports his dream of being a dancer and entertaining the world. What he doesn’t know is that his hometown hero, Kevin Durant, is there to surprise and encourage him.
Unbeknownst to James, the entire experience was being captured via hidden cameras. After entertaining himself in the trailer, and prepping to go on set, his entire focus shifted when he realized that he was getting ready to share his story with the world. So, what did he do? He dropped to his knees and said a prayer for him and his mother. First, he didn’t want to be embarrassed and most important, he wanted his mother’s life to be better.
James had no clue that Kevin Durant, JJ Watt and Derek Jeter were in the other trailer watching every moment. Or that God wasn’t the only one who heard his prayer.
Earlier this year, during the production of our viral video to celebrate Black History Month, the team had the privilege of being introduced to the talent and infectious energy of James. Not only was his talent evident, but his love and admiration for his mother was as well. During the filming, James’ mother, LaToya, shared how excited he was to participate, because to him, his dreams of being an entertainer would be the gateway to a better life. She went on to show us a note from James that she carries with her. He wrote the note after he saw Kevin Durant’s MVP speech and witnessed how Durant honors and upholds his mother. Given their similarities (same neighborhood, same birthday, same upbringing etc) we knew that a meeting between the two of them would be inevitable.
None of this would have been possible without American Family Insurance providing the platform for this to take place via their Every Dream Needs a Champion campaign. To find out more about the campaign and to watch more films like this one, visit amfam.com/dreams.