The NFL is the most popular sports league in America, but was in need of reaching more young, female and multicultural audiences. This campaign was the final beat of our broader 100th season and paid homage to everyone that contributed to making the past 100 seasons of NFL Football special while inviting the next generation to join.

Instead of creating a traditional ad campaign like many others create for the Super Bowl, we fully integrated our work into the game’s LIVE broadcast on Fox which helped us reach over 100 million fans in a totally new way.

Despite our mass popularity, in past years The NFL had been losing young fans faster than any other sports league and was seen as being out of touch with culture. Throughout the 2019 season, we saw things begin to improve from a ratings and fandom standpoint as we saw a new crop of exciting, diverse players make their mark on the game and changed our marketing approach to better align with young, female & multicultural fans.

Our task was to create a Super Bowl campaign that capitalized on that momentum and closed out season 100 on a forward looking high note.

In doing so, we were charged with continuing to grow positive perception of the league and our players as well as motivating young fans to want to watch the game, play the game and engage with our content like never before.

Given the stakes, we knew we couldn’t just run a regular ad that risked being overshadowed by other advertisers -- we needed to create a completely unmissable piece that was part of the game and got people talking for days afterward.

To do it, we created a film that aired immediately before the game’s kick off about a 13 year old kid, named Maxwell ‘Bunchie’ Young, running a football kick return back across the country. Along the way, he and a crew of fans and players he picks up, visit NFL legends and landmarks. The film comes to a crescendo when Bunchie and his 32 new friends run onto the Super Bowl LIV field in Miami LIVE during the game’s televised broadcast to deliver the Super Bowl game ball to the referee in front 60,000+ fans in stadium and over 100+ million on live TV.

All season long, our strategic approach focused on creating marketing programs that invite more young, female and multicultural fans into the fold. This meant shedding the league’s traditionally authoritative, untouchable image and injecting a youthful, open and inclusive energy into our marketing efforts. Super Bowl LIV represented the perfect opportunity to take that approach to the next level as we looked to invite even more fans in and get them excited for what the next 100 seasons could bring.

To bring that strategy to life, we ‘passed the torch’ to a group of young, diverse fans and players that represented all 32 NFL markets by putting them in the spotlight on our biggest stage as they invited everyone watching to join them in making the next 100 seasons great.

During Super Bowl LIV, millions of football fans were glued to their televisions. Moments before kick-off, we introduced Maxwell “Bunchie” Young to the world as he embarked on his journey across America and eventually to the “house” -- Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

The story was created over a series of shoot days that took place over the course of 2 months in 6 cities. Everything was pre-shot and edited up until Bunchie finally reached the end of the tunnel where he was given the official game ball.

At that moment, we seamlessly integrated to LIVE television where Fox picks up the last 30 seconds where the commercial left off. As Bunchie exits the tunnel, the crowd, 60,000+ strong, roared with applause filling the stadium. Bunchie, along with 32 kids representing each club, delivered the game ball to the referee and celebrated the next generation of football.

We Created a Media Frenzy:

6 billion+ impressions in the days that followed, including Bunchie being invited to ‘The Today Show’, America’s premier morning show.

We Captured America’s Hearts:

“It was charming and, for the NFL, the perfect capper on a season-long celebration of its anniversary” -New York Magazine

“The NFL is back with another juggernaut ad for Super Bowl LIV” -Time

“Not sure any commercial will out do the NFL 100 commercial that was just on … it was awesome” -ESPN Pundit, Mike Golic

We Moved the Needle:

?Net perception of The NFL improved +15%

?Net perception of NFL Players improved +13%.

?56% of young fans & players said the campaign made them want to play football

?65% said the campaign made them think that the NFL is culturally