Hill Holliday trolls Shaq and Chuck with victory cigars during Boston visit

[JohnS]

Hill Holliday trolls Shaq and Chuck with victory cigars during Boston visit

One of the "Petty Cigars" used to troll Celtics doubters - Photo C/O Hill Holliday

Cameron Tabatabaie - Celtics Wire

Few images loom larger in the mythology of the Boston Celtics than legendary head coach Red Auerbach lighting up a victory cigar. The ritual was the ultimate act of showmanship, and something has come to symbolize Boston's dominance in the NBA. Red's victory cigar still makes an appearance on the video board at TD Garden when the Celtics win, an homage to the smokey tradition.

When the Celtics won the 2024 NBA Finals in June, the folks at Hill Holliday decided cigars would once again make for the perfect celebration. A Boston-based advertising and communication agency since 1968, the creative team at Hill Holliday quickly got to work immortalizing the title with special custom-engraved smokes. Some of these cigars were sent to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Paul Pierce got a few, too, as well as some of the team's loudest critics.

And when some of the Celtics' biggest doubters returned to Boston for the 2024-25 regular season opener, Hill Holliday made sure they got their hands on the cigars as well.

Hill Holliday has deep Boston roots, and like most folks in the Hub, was rooting hard for the Celtics during their pursuit of a coveted 18th banner back in June. According to the company's chief creative officer Dave Weist, he and executive vice president and head of art Kevin Daley had a creative brain blast right as the team won.

Weist told Celtics Wire the idea for celebratory cigars came over dinner with Daley.

"We were having dinner after a shoot," Weist explained. "And the Celtics just had this historic win after so many people doubted them. That’s when we said, 'What would Red Auerbach have done?'  He would have had some fun and celebrated in a big way."

To really capture Auerbach's playful arrogance, the cigars are engraved with quotes from media members who had doubted the team. In total, 18 custom boxes of cigars were sent out to famous influencers and critics of the team. This caused a huge stir online. The "petty cigars" perfectly captured Hill Holliday's goals.

A closer look at the "Petty Cigars" made by Hill Holiday  - Photo C/O Hill Holiday

The cigars also caught the eye of TNT, who loved the stunt. After all, presenter Shaquille O'Neal had called the Celtics "overrated" prior to the Finals, and his colleague Charles Barkley declared on television he didn't "know if they can win" the title.

"After, we shipped 18 of these custom cigars in hand-crafted boxes to famous fans and doubters," Weist said. "The response on social media was tremendous. That’s what caught the eye of TNT.  They came to us with the idea of presenting them on opening night of the NBA season, and it was some of the NBA players who affectionately called them ‘the Petty Cigar’." 

Boston hosted the New York Knicks on opening night of the season, the same date the team received their championship rings and hung a new banner to the rafters of TD Garden.

It was opening night for TNT as well, and to mark the occasion the usual broadcast quartet of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, O'Neal, and Barkley helped emcee a concert at City Hall Plaza in Boston. As part of their usual program, the hosts at long last received their petty cigars.

You can watch a clip of the moment and the response at the link below, courtesy of TNT and Hill Holliday.

https://celticswire-eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/celtics/2024/10/28/hill-holiday-trolls-shaq-and-chuck-with-cigars-during-boston-visit/75884739007/