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To celebrate 30 years of Fox NFL Sunday, the network has launched a series of comedic spots featuring its talent.
Fox’s newest 30-second creative, “Team Jackets,” will debut Oct. 15 and stars the America’s Game of the Week broadcast team: Erin Andrews, Greg Olsen, Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Rinaldi.
“It’s our 30th anniversary, and thinking about a campaign that celebrates our talent was an extension of that,” Robert Gottlieb, president of marketing for Fox Sports, told Adweek. “With these four, it’s very apparent. They’re a unit. They have really great camaraderie.”
Done in conjunction with agency Special U.S., the spot shows the four broadcasters each receiving customized team jackets—though Burkhardt isn’t happy with his new nickname Lil’ Baby Kay Kay.
According to Gottlieb, the spots are designed to show viewers, who only know the quad as TV personalities, how much fun they have spending time together. It also helps Fox stand out from other NFL broadcast partners.
“There’s, like, nine different broadcasters of NFL games,” Gottlieb said. “From a marketing strategic lens, the ability to take some ownership of our NFL product became more of a focus. And the thing that we really own in terms of the NFL is our talent.”
The creative will run across the Fox Sports portfolio, as well as on Tubi and the Fox social and digital platforms.
“The campaign was a dream to work on because we already had our starring cast in place,” said Dave Horton, executive creative director, Special U.S. “Greg Olsen and Kevin Burkhardt make a perfect comic team. Erin Andrews plays it smart, and Tom Rinaldi is like a longtime friend to sports fans. Everything, from concepts to dialogue and the shoots themselves, felt natural, effortless and a joy to produce.”
The new creative follows the first spot, “Catchphrase,” which began airing in heavy rotation at the beginning of the NFL season. A third spot will begin airing in November, featuring Olsen dressed like Terry Bradshaw.
Not-so-Swiftly
Fox is pleased “across the spectrum” with how the 2023-24 season has unfolded, and Gottlieb said the second half will “get even better.”
“A few years ago, you could look at the landscape and say some of the old guard was toward the end that was carrying a lot of ratings juice—Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers,” Gottlieb said. “That transition has happened. Now, it’s San Francisco; it’s Jalen Hurts; Patrick Mahomes. The kids are all right. And a little Taylor Swift never hurt either.”
The Week 3 matchup between the Chiefs and the Bears—which included Swift in the crowd—drew 24.3 million viewers that Sunday, making it the most-watched telecast on any network.
But Fox isn’t banking on additional Swift appearances to drive further viewership and sports marketing.
“Our view is that it was a great moment. We were very proud and happy that we were there at the inception and helped bring that first wave of excitement of Taylor Swift at the game to life,” Gottlieb said. “The effect on ratings and demographics might have been a little breathlessly overstated.”
According to Gottlieb, when digging into the data, Swift’s presence didn’t bring a “significant viewership event,” but it was a “fun pop culture moment.”
“But with all great, fun pop culture moments, you have to be careful not to beat the horse to death,” Gottlieb added. “It might not be an every week occurrence that you want to get a broadcast full of Taylor Swift puns and mentions.”
