After they settled on telling a West African story for the NFL’s Super Bowl halftime commercial this year, 72andSunny had a decision to make on where to shoot it—though the answer quickly became obvious.

“We didn’t want to recreate Ghana [in Los Angeles]. We wanted to be immersed in Ghana, so we had to go there,” said Nicole Haase, the agency’s director of production. “We had to experience the people, the culture, the casting, the local sights and sounds, the red dust that’s prominent in the dry season, the architecture, the colors—all that stuff was just at the ready.” 

The agency initially wasn’t sure they could get the NFL talent in the spot—Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson and Cameron Jordan—to travel to Ghana. But they didn’t want to do pickup shots with them later. Luckily, they didn’t have to worry.

“Usually they’re in Cancun if they’re not in playoffs,” said Matt Turnier, creative director. “We knew we could never re-create that market [in Accra, Ghana], even on a small scale. So kudos to Saquon and Cam and Justin. Seeing these NFL players walking through the market in their uniforms was surreal. But it was cool to see their investment. They brought their families and experienced Ghana also.”

“It’s a huge ask to go to Africa, we knew that,” said Haase. “But it made a huge difference.”

The story of “Born to Play,” the NFL’s latest high-profile halftime commercial (see the extended 2:30 version above), really is that story of immersion. And it goes beyond just shooting in Ghana. 72andSunny relied heavily on local resources rather than bringing the entire production in from outside. 

The crew was 96% Black and included just seven people from the U.S. Everyone else was African. Also, aside from NFL players, the cast was 100% African. And the director, Andrew Dosunmu of Little Minx, is Nigerian and has shot extensively in Africa.

On a Super Bowl telecast that struggles with diversity in the ads—in front of and behind the camera—that inclusion is a welcome development. But 72andSunny emphasized it wasn’t charity work. Using local talent made it easier to shoot in many ways, and naturally made the finished product that much more authentic. 

“The reason Andrew stood out as much as he did—beyond the fact that he’s West African—was that, on our calls, he was like, ‘This is my story. This was me as a kid, imagining being a professional athlete,’ ” said Jason LaFlore, creative director. “Also, we’re American. We’re not familiar with the customs and ways of Ghana. Our costume designer—she knows exactly how things are supposed to look. We knew we had to do it right, and that meant having those partners.” 

Football’s global story

Following last year’s “Run With It” spot with Diana Flores, quarterback of Mexico’s women’s national flag football team, 72andSunny wanted to continue to expand the perception of football beyond the stereotypical American view.

This is part of the NFL’s growth strategy in general. As safety concerns about tackle football continue to reduce youth participation in America, the league is looking for other ways to grow. These include expanding flag football, encouraging more women to play and building more interest in the game overseas.

In researching the latter, 72andSunny zeroed in on the NFL’s Africa program and Osi Umenyiora, the British-Nigerian former New York Giants player who runs it.

Also read: How the NFL, others are growing international fandom

This global view was timely, as a rule change next year will allow NFL teams to add a roster spot to their practice squads just for international talent. Plus, the game is growing globally in general—American football will be an official sport in the 2028 Olympics, and the NFL is scheduling its first South American game, in Brazil, next year, following games in Europe.

For the script, though, they had to take this global story and give it a local focus. 

“It really started when we saw some of the films that had been captured [at NFL camps in Africa],” said Zach Hilder, executive creative director. “That gave us the spark for the story of a boy who dreams of playing in the NFL.” 

In the end, the commercial is really two spots in one. There’s the action-packed first half with the boy, Kwesi, running around Accra (in some ways this section is reminiscent of the NFL’s “Take It to the House” Super Bowl spot in 2020). And there’s the more emotional, touching second half, when Kwesi meets Umenyiora.

“If you look at the edit, almost half of it is that end moment between the boy and Osi,” said Hilder. “We really wanted that time to feel the emotion. The line that he says—‘It doesn’t matter where you’re born. As long as you were born to play’—we wanted to have time for that to sink in, and hopefully have people crying in their nachos.”

Also read: How NFL turned flag football into Olympic sport

A boy named Kwesi

After casting a bit in South Africa but mostly in West Africa, 72andSunny and Little Minx found a boy with a twinkle in his eye to play Kwesi.

“When we saw him, we just knew he was the guy,” said Haase. “He had that face, those bright eyes. And he wasn’t a real actor. He had the flaws of being a little boy, and didn’t turn it on too much. We wanted him to be relatable in that way.”

In this aspect, the spot is a departure from “Take It to the House,” which starred then 12-year-old football prodigy Maxwell “Bunchie” Young, a native of Los Angeles who was a YouTube sensation.

“We’ve shot with some very football-capable people. Diana [Flores] could move. Bunchie could move,” said LaFlore. “We loved the charm of the fact that this kid really wasn’t a football player. He was learning as we were shooting the commercial. When you see him throw, it’s not a perfect-looking throw. That makes it feel even more like a real story.” 

They shot on a Friday and Saturday—the two busiest days of the week—in the biggest market in Accra. The market was largely open during the entire shoot.

“The only time it shut down was when the camera was rolling,” said Turnier. “We were setting up scenes and people were buying their dinner for that evening right next to us. It was wild to see an active market as we were blocking or reviewing takes. I can’t believe anyone ever agreed to shoot there—and that we actually pulled off.” 

Salute to the locals

Hilder said there was a special moment at the end of the shoot. After getting the final shot—Jordan tipping over the rickshaw—Dosunmu climbed on top of the overturned vehicle and gave a thank you speech to the cast, crew and all the locals who were there.

Then the boy who played Kwesi got up, too.

“Everyone crowded around and was screaming and cheering,” said Hilder. “The boy’s speech was so charming. He thanked his dad. I’m so excited for him to see the commercial—he’s only seen the teasers. He’s a special kid. But I’ve never had a moment like that at a shoot.”

The whole production continues 72andSunny’s ongoing journey to shift perception of the NFL beyond its historical roots. These halftime spots are a high-profile way to showcase that evolving identity.

“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 Tim Ellis, the NFL’s chief marketing officer, in a statement. “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.”

“I’ve said this before, but the NFL’s shield for so long protected the sanctity of the game. What we’ve done, I think, is use that shield to push the game forward in new and interesting ways,” Hilder said. “The game is continuing to expand in an exciting way. People are drawn to it. And it’s not just fandom, which is great, but the people who are wanting to play the game.”

As his thoughts shifted to next year’s spot, he added: “I don’t know how we’re going to top Ghana. We’ll have go to the moon or something.”