In mid-February gaming giant EA Sports rolled out a powerful, respectful ‘Thanks, Coach’ tribute to NFL great and its naming partner for its biggest US sports game EA Sports Madden NFL.
Along with old-time portable television sets serving as symbolic screens of his legendary life, the moving spot features colleagues, friends, NFL Hall of Famers and accolades from super star quarterbacks Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
The almost eight-minute video, which was directed by Superprime’s Emmett and Brandon Malloy, showcases Maddens trinity of football achievements as a coach, a commentator and a gaming legend. Madden’s complex personality is also explored through interviews with famous football faces and archival footage.
The film, which is accompanied by Bob Dyladn’s 1975 track ‘Simple Twist Of Fate’, offers gravitas and nostalgia and spans his pre-cable football days with old footage and monochrome sequences, plus EA Madden game animation and a look forward towards the world of the metaverse.
Madden gets the film’s final word: “I used to say something before a game. I had no idea what it meant. But I heard it someplace, and it sounded like a pretty good idea. The last thing I’d say was: Don’t worry about the horse being blind. Just load the wagon.”
‘Thanks, Coach’ dropped on line across EA’s digital and social platforms from 14 February.
Initially, the film wasn’t intended as a memorial and so most of those in the video speak about Madden in the present tense.
“We began shooting in 2020 and then Covid reared its ugly head,” recalled Emmett Malloy. “More than a year went by, and when the world started to figure itself out, we got back on track. We flew to Tampa to shoot with Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, who were together shooting last year’s cover for Madden. We did every interview in person.”
“We got to talk with people about a coach that meant so much to them, so the interviews were emotional from both sides of the camera,” added Malloy. “Plus, we got to shoot on 35mm film in black and white, and that opportunity was a dream for us. Shooting interviews on film is something we never get to do.”
The campaign was conceived by a team at EA Sports led by Senior Director (Creative) Paul Marr, Creative Director Josh Kline, Senior Producer Troy Smith, Senior Director Of Marketing Strategy David Jackson James and Athlete Relations Executive Ty Stover.
It was produced by Superprime Films, helmed by The Malloys, with Managing Director / Executive Producer Rebecca Skinner, Managing Director / Head of Sales Michelle Ross and Producer Betsy Blakemore.
Editorial was handled by Exile with Executive Producer CL Weaver, Head of Production Jennifer Locke, Producer David Won and Editor Matt Murphy.
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Big John Madden, who passed away in December aged 85, was a gruff yet gregarious godfather of the gridiron. His six-decade multimedia football career began as the coach of the Oakland Raiders during the 1970s (including winning Super Bowl XI), before moving on to become a legend of the broadcasting booth through his colourful commentary and of the gaming console as the USA’s best-selling football sports game bore his name.
It was back in 1988, EA founder Trip Hawkins asked Madden to work with him on EA’s NFL game to help make the virtual action as authentic as possible. Madden offered his expert guidance and EA added his name to the game’s title when it finally launched after four years of development. The game set out to establish the standard for football game realism and excitement and Madden NFL has sold more than 130m copies and generated billions of dollars in revenue.
“In my mind, John Madden is the most important figure in the history of professional football,” said fellow football sportscaster Al Michaels. “Show me somebody else who did it on three levels [as a coach, commentator and gaming pioneer]. There’s nobody.
EA Sports Madden NFL 22 launched back in August 2021 with a fun-filled campaign called ‘Madden Land‘.
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