Widely considered the best basketball player of all-time, Michael Jordan developed into a cultural force that transcended sports in a way few athletes have ever approached. Jordan's 1990's Chicago Bulls were indisputably among the greatest teams ever assembled in any sport, yet after their 6th championship in 8 years, and with Jordan still at the peak of his ability & worldwide fame, he retired, and the Bulls were dismantled. There had always been speculation of what led to this abrupt end of a dynasty, but the definitive story was never told.

Enter ESPN's "The Last Dance." Unbeknownst to many, Jordan had struck a unique deal before his final season with the Bulls; the NBA would have unprecedented access, but the footage could never be released without Jordan's approval. Finally, 20 years later, Jordan was ready, and ESPN began the project in earnest. State Farm signed on early as title sponsor.

State Farm is always looking for new ways to connect with a very savvy basketball audience, that knows when they're being marketed to, and to strengthen brand loyalty. ESPN's "The Last Dance" was the perfect opportunity to do just that – a cultural landmark broadcast event, with limited commercial interruption on one of the three largest public broadcast stations in America in ABC (ESPN's parent affiliate). State Farm worked with ESPN to secure the first title sponsorship of The Last Dance, and a key part of the negotiation as a first-mover was to unlock the ability to create a custom commercial to air in the premiere episode.

A full production was planned, script approved, and ready to go, when the world shut down due to COVID-19. Then, ESPN moved up the launch of "The Last Dance," shortening the timeline from five months to just one. New creative, aware of production limitations, was conceived, scripted, and quickly approved by State Farm and ESPN, then produced entirely remotely – with the talent on one coast, and the animators on the other. Then the 30-second film blending nostalgia and technology was placed in the middle of the documentary filled with SportsCenter highlights and almost no commercial interruptions. The result felt like a part of "The Last Dance" because it really was.

The integration was so seamless, fans did a double-take. Actually believing that the State Farm commercial was a part of the documentary, viewers immediately took to social media to share their surprise with the world. With 52 million impressions, 15x brand mentions, thousands of tweets, and 12 of the 15 top trending topics, the social conversation anointed the State Farm commercial as one of the all-time greats, even "raising the bar for brand integration" – creating a Super Bowl-level moment, with only one brand on the stage – State Farm. Even the highest budget ad debuts on the world’s biggest stage during the 2020 Super Bowl LIV -- Budweiser’s’ “Typical American”, Pepsi’s “Zero Sugar w/ Missy Elliott,” P&G’s “When We Come Together,” – did not come close to drawing the interest that State Farm’s “Predictions” with Kenny Mayne attracted (57% higher than top 5 advertisers during Super Bowl LIV).