There’s still the “helmets-off” approach to NFL players and alumni that NFL CMO Tim Ellis and 72andSunny have been using since their NFL 100 Super Bowl debut collaboration in 2019, with the Dallas Cowboys’ DeMarcus Lawrence, the Houston Texans’ Stefon Diggs, the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett, and recently retired Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce and his wife, Kylie.
But this year’s campaign also brings even more love for U.S. fans, with a Saquon Barkley fan’s new Eagles jersey drawing gasps from her New York Giants-loving family; a look at a hospital that’s full of baby Steelers fans in Conemaugh, Pa.; and a field of hit-dispensing youth football moms in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
In addition, individual vignettes within the main ad are broken up into 15-second spots featured throughout the season.
“Part of the helmets-off strategy is not only to showcase our players as human, but it’s also to make the league approachable and inclusive,” said Marissa Solis, the NFL’s svp of global brand and consumer marketing. “This campaign is amazing because everyone is a part of the game. No matter where you are, who you are, you see this spot, and you can see yourself somewhere in there.”
But the aperture of the league’s marketing efforts is incrementally expanding beyond its home fields.
Continuing the exploration of the league’s Global Markets Program that began in the league’s most recent Super Bowl ad centered on its facilities in Ghana, “This is Football Country” follows YouTube creator Deestroying’s 1ON1 football series to Japan. It checks in on local players in Brazil just ahead of the NFL’s latest International Game in September at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo between the Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. With the league playing three games this year in London (Oct. 6, Oct. 13, Oct. 20) and another in Munich (Nov. 10), expanded global reach is a priority for a campaign that jumps between Brazil, Hawaii, Florida, Japan, Mexico, and New York.
“We’re grabbing things that are authentically happening in the sport, not just creating moments for the sake of a commercial,” said Jason LaFlore, creative director at 72andSunny. “We’re trying to infuse actual football culture into the ads that you’re seeing out there, so whether it’s women playing, people playing in Japan, or people playing all over the country, it’s all about just trying to show the inclusivity of football itself and how it reaches a little bit of everything.”