The idea was to create a meta-piece, a commentary on the whole nature of sports "teases" and lift the veil for the audience. John Malkovich gets to point out the contrivances that are often used in these sorts of pieces like using an orchestra and overblown and overwrought language, while at the same time using them to deliver a much more powerful performance of his own. Not only is this idea entertaining for the industry insiders who work on these sorts of films, but it's also highly entertaining for the viewer at home who gets to peak behind the curtain at how these pieces are produced, and also gets to witness a rousing performance for our lead actor.

Implementation

This film was given roughly four minutes of air time before the kickoff of the game, which is an almost unprecedented amount of time for one of our opening "teases." It was also broadcast during our pregame studio show to ensure that it had the most possible number of impressions on live TV as possible before the game.

Timeline

This piece was held until the day of the AFC Championship broadcast to maximize its impact on game day when viewers would be tuning in and invested in the broadcast.

Placement/Scale

This film aired before the kickoff of the game, when nearly 50 million viewers are tuning in, during the pregame studio show, and placed online on Facebook and Twitter where a combined 5 million followers could watch our content.

Reach

Not only was the film broadcast to roughly 50 million viewers at home, but it was also shared on various social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter. Resulting in an additional 3.2 million views in 24 hours.

Engagement

Those same social media platforms also saw over 27,000 retweets and shares in a 24 hour period, including shares and mentions from actors like Zach Braff and Jerry Ferrara to sports industry stars like Scott Van Pelt and Katie Nolan.

Impact

This film drove views on CBS Sports' social media pages and helped the AFC Championship game trend on Twitter beyond what the live broadcast could do on its own. When Hollywood actors, and influencers within your industry recognize your work, it helps us expand our audience.

This piece played before the 2018 AFC Championship football game which drew roughly 50 million viewers on CBS. Although it's a sporting contest, it is ultimately the most popular sport in the United States and one of the most popular forms of entertainment. This piece is a part of that and meant to engage the viewer prior to the game in a way that gets them excited and sets the stage for the contest.

The strategy was to create a strong and impactful piece that would air before kickoff of the AFC Championship game, first and foremost. Time restrictions on the length of the film weren't considered, the main goal was to craft a strong story and not worry about hitting a specific time.

Once that was accomplished we then looked to distribute it to as many social platforms as possible and broadcast it in our pregame show as well as before kickoff during the live broadcast.

Situation

In the years that CBS doesn’t broadcast the Super Bowl, the AFC Championship (the semifinal) is the highest rated broadcast of the year. It is one of only two games played that day and captures the attention of every football fan. As such, we produce content around the game to elevate the spectacle for the viewer. This includes our opening film or "tease" before the game.

Brief

This film depicts a meta moment where a disgruntled John Malkovich, unhappy with the script he’s about to film for the opening of the AFC Championship game, confronts his director. As he rants and delivers his monologue he actually delivers the piece that our audience at home gets to watch.

Objectives

Our objective was to produce creative content that we could broadcast prior to kickoff and to create a buzz for the audience both at home as well as on social media.