“We always try to get the pulse of the nation as we enter a new season,” Ellis said in an interview. “We’re going into a year that could be the most divisive in our lifetimes. I think the country needs the NFL more than ever—for escape, and also to pull us all together to focus on things we agree on.”
More from Ad Age: How to avoid controversy in partisan times
“We have this dual strategy of the joy of the game but also how the game transcends and inspires communities,” said Marissa Solis, senior VP of global brand and consumer marketing. “[In the spot] you see such a broad range of everyone football touches. No matter who you are, where you are in the world, whether you play the game or not, something about the spot is going to touch something inside.”
Along with the anthem, the campaign will include 15-second spots, breaking throughout the season, offering quirky snapshots from Football Country—for example, a hospital in Pittsburgh that swaddles babies in the Steelers’ famous Terrible Towels; a moms’ night in Brooklyn where they get to tackle their kids; and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ USA Wheelchair Football League team practicing at night.