NFL - "NFL Football is for Everyone 30" by PHNX Awards 2022

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TitleNFL Football is for Everyone 30
Campaign Football is for Everyone
Advertiser National Football league
Brand NFL
Date of First Broadcast/Publication 2021 / 6
Product NFL
Story “Football is a microcosm of America.” These words, from LaDainan Tomlinson, articulate in part why the NFL is the largest, most popular sports league in America—because football is America, united by their love for the game. That is, unless you’re gay.

Across the NFL’s 102 year history, not one of its 35,000 active players had openly identified as LGBTQ+. This fact is not just startling, it’s indicting; football’s infamous heteronormativity is not because gay players don’t exist, but because their identities are oppressed.

Until June 21, 2021, when Carl Nassib bravely and openly came out as gay.

We knew the NFL’s action at that moment would define its stance. If football is a microcosm of America, the NFL had to step up for America. We needed to show up in support of Carl and, at long last, begin to establish football as a welcoming place for the LGBTQ+ community.

“Football is for Everyone” launched on the morning of Pride Day, June 28th, just days after Carl Nassib publicly came out. We created a :30s film designed to supercharge the cultural conversation already underway. To make our statement unignorable, we focused solely on words. We open with a provocation: Football is Gay. From there, over celebratory music the words flutter through a series of assertions. Football is: beautiful, queer, transgender, American, accepting, everything...for everyone. Our CTA invites audiences to join us in supporting The Trevor Project.

We first rallied our 48.2M social followers behind the message. Then we took it to the court. Running during the NBA Western Conference Finals. Then came Nascar, the Tour de France and SportsCenter. We engaged different sports communities and garnered PR headlines from USA Today to TMZ. To keep inclusivity top of mind, “Football is for Everyone” ran across the 2021 season.

RESULTS:
Accrued 114.3M organic impressions worth ~$1.5M, with $16k paid budget - an ROI of 93:1. 343 articles and 12K+ organic social mentions, including shoutouts from 22/32 NFL teams.
Beyond numbers, the emotional impact and meaningful engagement was clear. Many said “NEVER in my life did I think I would live to see anything like this from the NFL.”

Our proudest example: @RainbowDads posted their son reciting our film, saying “It’s amazing to see fans rally, how much the world around us has changed…We get to enjoy life and be accepted.” And for the first time, they felt comfortable attending an NFL game together as a family.

Helped contribute to a 38% increase in YoY donations to The Trevor Project. While attribution is difficult to quantify, we have a directional proxy: after viewing, 58% said they were likely to visit The Trevor Project to donate and learn more.

Length
NFL Team Client
Chief Marketing Officer Tim Ellis
SVP of Social and Influence Marketing Ian Trombetta
VP, Marketing Rhett Nichols
Sr. Producer, Advertising and Production Lucy Hallowell
Founder/Creative Co-Chair Glenn Cole
Executive Creative Director Zach Hilder
Creative Director / Writer Nate Virnig
Creative Director / Art Director Devin Baker
Executive Producer Nicole Haase
Sr. Producer Jackie Omanoff
Group Brand Director Shane Chastang
Brand Director Katie Martin
Executive Strategy Director Kelly Schoeffel
Comms Director Kristin Barker
Strategist Samantha Springer
Sr Partnerships and Legal Manager Casey Brown
Editorial Company Hecho Studios
Editor Josh Copeland
Producer Shannon Magarity
EP/Head of Post Ryan Anderson
Music
Music Company Howling Music
Composer Ryan Claus
Executive Producer Jeff Stevenson
Mix LIME Studios