ESPN and the NFL have reminded us several times over the past week that the football season is about to begin with help from Wieden + Kennedy New York.
In the latest pigskin-flavored spot to promote SportsCenter, the network plays on familiar fantasy football tropes, twisting the narrative 180 degrees with a bit of help from Victor Cruz of the Giants, Jimmy Graham of the Saints and a few other league employees:
After learning that the U.S. military doesn’t really use “Call of Duty” to train soldiers, we’re a little skeptical when it comes to football stars participating in fantasy leagues.
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But the image is too amusing to discard, so we’ll stick with it.
| CLIENT | ESPN |
| PROJECT NAME | THIS IS SPORTSCENTER (TISC) |
| SYNOPSIS OF SPOT | |
| FORMAT | TV |
| CLIENT CONTACT | Jeff Gonyo, Michael Kopech, Tim Hubbel, AJ Mazza, Patrick Sofen |
| LAUNCH DATE | 9/8/14 |
| DURATION OF CAMPAIGN |
| W+K NEW YORK | ||
| Creative Directors | Brandon Henderson, Caleb Jensen | |
| Art Director | Jeff Dryer | |
| Copywriter | Laddie Peterson | |
| Executive Producer | Temma Shoaf | |
| Account Team | Casey Bernard, Alex Scaros | |
| PRODUCTION | ||
| Production Company | O Positive | |
| Director | David Shane | |
| Executive Producer | Marc Grill | |
| Line Producer | Marc Grill | |
| Director of Photography | Dave Morabito | |
| EDITORIAL | |
| Editorial Company | Mackenzie-Cutler |
| Editor | Ian Mackenzie |
| Assistant Editor | Mike Leuis |
| Post Producer | Sasha Hirschfeld |
| Post Executive Producer | |
| VFX | |
| VFX Company | The Mill |
| Producer | Clairellen Wallin |
| Production Asst. | |
| Lead Flame Artist/Creative Director | Jamin Clutcher |
| VFX Supervisor | |
| Assist | Brandon Danowski |
| MIX | |
| Mix Company | Heard City |
| Mixer | Philip Loeb |
| Producer | Gloria Pitagorsky |