US college football broadcast rights holder ESPN rolled out a fantastical campaign promoting its College Football Playoffs (CFP) programming extending its ongoing ‘The Greatest Story Ever Played’ promotional platform.
Working with creative agency Arts & Letters, the November 2022 campaign continues where the first wave of work in the story-led campaign (which launched in August) left off and highlights the sentiment around great college football stories – both on and off the field – and the varied ways that the sport generates passion amongst the fans.
Rolling out on Saturday 17 November, as the 2022-23 USA college football season moves towards a climax and the stakes of each game grow ever higher, the knock out stages of the season creative amplified the anticipation and excitement as the top teams play for a coveted spot in the College Football Playoff.
Debuting on TV during ESPN’s ‘College GameDay Built by The Home Depot’ preview show, the campaign is led by a hero film that draws inspiration from an epic, fantasy style, cinematic story told through the lens of two worlds and titled ‘Once Upon A Game: College Football on ESPN’.
The first strand is set at story-time when a grandfather shares the epic tale of the 2023 CFP to his granddaughter, while the second strand takes place inside the granddaughter’s imagination and features epic football stand-offs between teams vying for glory – complete with house banners, towering stadiums and coaches and players alike being treated like royal champions.
As the spot states in its opening scenes: “Once upon a time there were a handful of teams all vying for a spot in the CFP. Each led by a great coach, fearless players and defended by the loyalist of fans. This is College Football on ESPN: The Greatest Story Ever Played.”
“The 2022-23 College Football Playoff will be a must-watch, and this creative drives home how important the CFP really is by looking at the many defining moments from the sport,” outlined ESPN Vice President Of Sports Marketing Emeka Ofodile. “The upcoming weeks and months will feature cheers, tears, and an epic ending, and fans can see it unfold on ESPN.”
Arts & Letters Creative Director NJ Placentra added: “If ‘The Greatest Story Ever Played’ were an actual story, then the College Football Playoff would be that story’s climactic chapter. That’s the conceit that inspired this latest work as we set out to get fans excited for this season’s epic conclusion.”
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The broadcaster’s campaign launched the same day as CFP title partner AT&T’s 2022 season climax campaign which was called ‘Never Too Much’.
It also follows previous ESPN college football marketing including its ‘Postseasoning‘, ‘Key Moments Montage‘ and ‘The Game Needs Us‘ campaigns.
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