On 11 February, the NFL debuted its own Super Bowl LVIII campaign called ‘Born To Play‘ which was developed as ‘a powerful ode to the diverse and inclusive spirit of the international game of football’.
The two-minute Big Game commercial, which was teased online ahead of the game and then debuted in full on air immediately following the ‘Apple Music Halftime Show, celebrates the global growth of football and promotes increased opportunity to the sport for anyone who dreams of playing.
Inspired by a speech given to NFL hopefuls at a football camp hosted by British-Nigerian former NFL player-pioneer and two-time Super Bowl champion Osi Umenyiora, the story arc mirrors the NFL (and Umenyiora’s) mission to encourage and offer youth across the planet a life-changing experience and opportunity to play at the game’s highest level.
The spot starts inside a traditional Ghanaian and features a young football fanatic itching to get outdoors to play. The hero imagines himself playing an intense football game through the city whilst on his way to school: a trip which leads to an NFL international camp.
During the journey he is joined by some of the NFL’s biggest stars: including Saquon Barkley (New York Giants), Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings), Cameron Jordan (New Orleans Saints) and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (Cleveland Browns).
Set in Ghana, and inspired by a speech given to NFL hopefuls at a football camp hosted by British-Nigerian former NFL player-pioneer and two-time Superbowl champion, Osi Umenyiora, the story mirrors the NFL and Osi’s collective mission to encourage and offer youth around the world the life-changing experience and opportunity to play at the highest levels of the game.
The commercial was conceived and created by agency 72andSunny and helmed by Andrew Dosunmu (a renowned photographer-turned-director and native of Lagos, Nigeria best known for his video collaborations with Travis Scott).
The shoot and production took place in Ghana: with more than 90 local Ghanian crew members and a cast of 400 local Ghanaian actors incorporated into the spot.
This marketing push invites viewers, fans and dreamers to learn more about the IPP Program and other football developments programs including the NFL Academy and NFL Flag at https://www.nfl.com/international/.
The hero spot is backed by an evolving multi-channel rights owner marketing push which includes a series of ‘To The Young Ones Dreaming’ social content.
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Production was by Little Minx and TD Afrique, post and VFX by Company 3 LA and Medthod LA, edit was run through Method USA, while PR was handled by Hanover, music by Lime Studios.
“The momentum around the global expansion of American football is real and exciting. Our intent is to embrace and celebrate this movement through powerful communication on our biggest stage, focusing on the growth of both flag and tackle football,” said NFL Chief Marketing Officer, Tim Ellis. “This is an inspiring and warm-hearted story about a boy from Ghana who fantasizes and dreams of playing football, and it celebrates the fact that anyone, from any background, can turn that dream into reality. Talent is global but opportunity is not. Opening doors for international athletes is not only a passion of mine, but it’s a way to give back to future generations of athletes” said Osi Umenyiora. “The NFL is life changing, and the pathway to play the sport is now a truly global one. The league’s international football development programs are helping to change young people’s lives and grow the game around the world. This campaign shows young people globally that it doesn’t matter where you were born, but you were born to play.”
Outcome
As well as reaching the 123.4m TV audience (the most watched Super Bowl ever – who says TV is dead), in the first 24 hours after bring posted on the NFL’s platforms on 12 February it has notched up 82,000 YouTube views, 20,000 Instagram views and
Is this the NFL’s attempt to finally start tackling football/soccer as the world’s global game? The league might like to think it can, but I’m not sure many others agree.
But, growing the game globally and increasing the number of international athletes playing in the NFL are certainly key league priorities. Particularly since a combination of injury threat, insurance challenges and increased sport/entertainment/leisure time competition have led to fewer youngsters playing the game in the USA.
Indeed, the 2024/5 season sees the NFL expand its footprint with five regular season games forming the ‘2024 NFL International Games’ slate: including an historic first-ever regular season game in São Paulo, Brazil.
Seeing significant growth around the world at both the grassroots and elite levels, flag football is the most accessible format of the game. The International Federation of American Football (IFAF), supported by the NFL, led efforts for flag football’s successful inclusion in the Olympics Games Los Angeles 2028.
In addition to flag, there are a number of exciting international football development programs, including the International Player Pathway (IPP) Program, which sees the NFL work to engage and enable participation for all ages and all stages to play American football (tackle and flag formats) around the world.
Established in 2017, the International Player Pathway (IPP) Program has been providing opportunities for elite international athletes to compete for a potential spot on an NFL roster.
Indeed, just a few weeks ahead of the Big Game, Wales Rugby Union poster boy Louis Rees-Zammit became the NFL’s latest high-profile IPP recruit after announcing he was stepping away from rugby to give the gird iron a try.