As the 2023-24 NFL season gets underway, the NFL on Thursday debuted this season’s brand campaign, “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up,” which features some of football’s biggest names.

The spots are a take off of an ongoing internet meme that jokes that the NFL is so entertaining, it’s scripted. Last season alone featured a brother vs. brother standoff in the Super Bowl (Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce versus older brother Philadelphia Eagles’ Jason Kelce), Rihanna revealing her second pregnancy during Super Bowl LVII’s halftime show, and 2022’s last-round draft pick (also known as Mr. Irrelevant)—San Francisco 49er quarterback Brock Purdy—shocking fans by leading the team to a nine-game winning streak before falling to this year’s Super Bowl losers, the Eagles.

Led by comedian Keegan Michael-Key as the NFL’s director, the spots feature some of the NFL’s biggest names including Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback and two-time Super Bowl MVP, Patrick Mahomes, as well as the Kelce brothers and their mom, Donna Kelce.

Kelce Plot Twist

Also seated around the script-read table are such “actors” as Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields, Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins, Seattle Seahawks’ DK Metcalf, New York Giants’ Dexter Lawrence, Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and Miami Dolphins’ Jalen Ramsey.

Kirko Drippin’

The Last Page

“Our goal was to make this campaign tongue-in-cheek, humorous and clever in the way we tapped into popular memes and cultural conversations about the league and its incredible real-life storylines that are better than anything you could make up,” said Tim Ellis, the NFL’s chief marketing officer, in a statement. “We really wanted to have fun with this and not take ourselves too seriously. We hope fans get a kick out of the campaign and are sitting on the edge of their seats to see what spectacles unfold this season.”

In anticipation of the narratives that will happen this year, “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” will continue throughout the season. The plan is to roll out 16 pieces of content timed to key moments such as Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas and international games.

Lederhosen

The Butt Pass

“You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” will debut in the Thursday Night Football game on Amazon Prime Video, as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Indianapolis Colts at home in a pre-season match-up at 8 p.m. EST on Thursday, August 24. The campaign will run across TV, digital and social.

The NFL season officially starts on Thursday, September 7, with the Detroit Lions taking on the 2023 Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs at 7 p.m. ET on NBC’s Thursday Night Football.

CREDITS

Client: NFL

Agency: 72andSunnyNY

Production: Biscuit Filmworks

Director: Aaron Stoller

Tags: 72andsunny 72andsunnyny aaron stoller biscuit filmworks nfl


  Save as PDF