The famously inscrutable Tom Brady gets emotionally vulnerable, in a cartoony way, in a new campaign from Hertz, which features the legendary NFL quarterback sitting down with actress and comedian Yvonne Orji on a fictional daytime talk show—the “Hertz Let’s Go Show.”

The hero :30 finds Brady in an amusingly existential mood, as he looks back on his playing career and wonders why he was always uttering the phrase “Let go!” on the field.

An accompanying :15 explores (except not really) who he really is at the core.

Brady has worked with Hertz since 2021; this is his third round of “Hertz. Let’s Go!” ads. Wayne Davis, chief marketing officer at Hertz, said the goal this time was to “really swing for the fences” creatively.

The talk-show premise “allowed us to move from the rental car lot to a premium studio environment,” he said. “You’ll see in the creative that we elevated the campaign and relationship by taking some bigger swings on the humor front and in recreating iconic talk show moments that promote Hertz’s diverse vehicle options.” 

Those include a growing fleet of EVs, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards loyalty program, partnerships, a global footprint and more.

“Tom could not have been more game to take the big swings with us and we had a rockstar host in Yvonne who took the comedy to new levels,” Davis added.

Agencies Shadow Lion, FKQ and Blue Memo worked on the creative, with Shadow Lion and FKQ also handling production. X2PR handled public relations. Gilad Haas, co-founder of Shadow Lion, which is involved in much of Brady’s commercial work, said the talk-show concept felt like a winner from the beginning.

“We were trying to think of a potential format that would be nostalgic and striking to the viewer while also allowing Hertz, Tom and Yvonne to shine,” Haas said. “Daytime talk shows are a staple across the world and they have produced some of television’s most iconic moments.” 

Orji elevated the material with an energy that was infectious, Haas added. “Her delivery, comedy and instant connection with Tom kept the whole set engaged and laughing throughout every single take,” he said. “If any network is looking for a new host … Yvonne should be at the top of their list!” 

“Yvonne is such a perfect fit for our brand and for this ad concept specifically,” Davis added. “She loves to travel and is on-record sharing that her dream has always been to become a talk-show host. Those synergies coupled with her humor and captivating presence really took this creative to new levels.”

The target for the campaign is existing Hertz customers as well as new customer prospects. The campaign includes more than 30 piece of content in total, with a heavy emphasis on social. “Expect to see a stronger presence on Instagram and TikTok as we continue to expose our brand to new and younger audiences,” said Davis.

The ads will also run on premium streaming networks (Hulu, Disney+, Max, Peacock, Warner Bros. Discovery), with accompanying audio ads on Pandora.

Davis said the results of the “Hertz. Let’s Go!” campaign have far surpassed the company’s goals. “We’ve seen significant lifts across all key business metrics, halo into our lower-funnel advertising and double-digit dot-com user growth,” he said. “The campaign has driven 12 billion-plus impressions and counting, while positively impacting brand health metrics of awareness, consideration and purchase intent across our key audience segments.”

Davis attributes much of that success to a strong alignment between Hertz and Brady’s core values.

“Both Hertz and Tom strive to be leaders within their immediate industry and more broadly,” he said. “We both have a ‘team-first’ mentality whether that be a global organization, football team or family. We’re both on record advocating for more sustainable transportation through the adoption of electric vehicles. And, we both strive to be positive in our interactions with everyone we encounter—customers, fans and more.”

“I appreciate my close collaboration with Hertz because it truly is so natural and authentic to me,” said Brady. “There is such a true connection to ‘Let’s Go’ as it relates to travel and the desire to have a seamless experience which Hertz always provides. Being an EV driver, I also love that more people across the country will have the opportunity to experience Hertz’s EV rental fleet. I’ve been driving one for a long time, and seeing Hertz continue to invest in them is amazing.”