Since every single news story or cultural event now rapidly devolves into an “our team vs. their team” exercise in political tribalism (UGH), it’s worth remembering that the National Football League is supposed to be about talented people playing football.
Grey launched the new season about a month ago with an FX-heavy spot that positioned itself as a trailer for the NFL as your favorite legacy TV show, back for another year of bone-crushing excitement complete with a “shock and awe” soundtrack by Miguel.
The new spot elaborates on the “Let the show begin” tagline in a very similar style. This time, the key selling point is the league’s unpredictability.
As you can see, this effort stars Demarco Murray, Jay Ajayi, Michael Thomas, and Myles Garrett making their way through a virtual obstacle course that resembles a mashup between gridiron antics and the new Blade Runner sequel. The music is from THEY, who are just as unfamiliar to us as the players themselves.
From the release: “The NFL season is nothing if not wildly unpredictable. Teams defy the odds and unknown players make names for themselves.”
That’s true in so many more ways than one.
CREDITS
Agency: Grey
Client: NFL
Campaign: “Unpredictable”
Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: John Patroulis
Deputy Chief Creative Officer: Jeff Stamp
Group Creative Director: Joe Mongognia
Creative Director/Art Director: Mike Cicale
Creative Director/Copywriter: Cameron Miller
Project Director: Hank Romero
EVP/Global Account Director: Brian Weston
SVP/Account Director: Courtney Berry
Senior Account Executive: Lucy Hallowell
Assistant Account Executive: Michael Jones
Executive Strategy Director: Tony Lederer
Senior Planner: Nicolas Pilaprat
Senior Planner: Ben Michaels
Content Strategist: Bryce Mathias
Sound Design: Sound Lounge
Co-Mixers: Justin Kooy and Peter Holcomb
Producer: Becca Falborn
Executive Producer: Mike Gullo
Production Company: Elastic
Director: Paul Mitchell
Director of Photography: Sean Stiegemeier
Live Action Producer: Richard Weager
Production Designer: Shel Greb
Design Studio: Elastic
Creative Director: Paul Mitchell & Lisa Bolan
Designer(s): James Levy, Nadia Tzuo
Producer: Lee Buckley
Executive Producer: Luke Colson
Head of Production: Kate Berry
Managing Directors: Linda Carlson & Jennifer Sofio Hall
VFX Supervisor / 2D Lead: Maciek Sokalski
CG Supervisor / 3D Lead: Andrew Romatz
3D Artists: Dustin Mellum, Ian Ruhfass, Josh Dyer
2D Artists: Elliot Brennan, Brinton Jaecks
Editor : Ryan Delk / Chris Hall