The AT&T 5G Helmet transcends advertising and marketing. Over the course of 2.5 years of product development, the design integrated 5G technology into a football helmet, designed and tested with Gallaudet University to ensure it fit the Deaf and hard of hearing community’s needs, with the goal of maximizing their ability to compete fairly and fundamentally level the sport’s outcomes. A custom app lets football coaches send plays to an AR display on the helmet at the speed of AT&T 5G. This empowers athletes, redefines inclusivity, and pushes the boundaries of what's possible with the power 5G.

Millions of people rely on AT&T’s wireless and home internet network every day. It's a necessity. But as a category, much of telecom advertising can be indistinguishable. Deal based. Transactional. In this context, we collectively recognized an opportunity to go far above and beyond this kind of work. We embraced AT&T’s day-one commitment to innovation that changes people’s lives. By focusing on connecting with a community, committing to an iterative and often difficult process, engaging in real partnership, and serving real people, we were able to create work that goes beyond the expected, and truly proves AT&T’s core brand belief that “Connecting Changes Everything.”

In 2021, all the wireless companies were in an arms race to market their 5G networks with narrow, uninspiring messages about speed. The question we thought was much more interesting was, “What can we create to show how AT&T connects people to greater possibilities?” What new thing can we make possible today that wasn’t possible before? Answered correctly, that question could launch work in AT&T’s pantheon of firsts (first telephone, first call to the Moon) that has earned AT&T its historical reputation as a hub of innovation. So we went seeking opportunities to differentiate 5G, and one really grabbed us. It had the benefit of being located in a cultural theater that AT&T had been a dominant force in for years: college sports and specifically, college football.

The AT&T 5G Football Helmet is a fully connected, 5G-powered football helmet, with a built-in Augmented Reality lens that lets Deaf and hard of hearing players see their coach’s play calls in real time, receiving information at the same time as hearing players. Once they can see what others can hear, they aren't unfairly penalized, and their talent and athleticism have a chance to shine. By connecting the players, this innovation changes the game – creating possibilities that did not exist before. This levels the playing field for our partners at Gallaudet University, and for countless Deaf and hard of hearing athletes beyond their walls – from the team today, to others who will adopt this in the future. The launch of the AT&T 5G Helmet shifted the 5G story from speed for speed’s sake, to human connection, embodying a perfect demonstration of AT&T’s brand purpose – “Connecting Changes Everything.”

Working with experts at AT&T, coaches and players at Gallaudet, helmet manufacturers, — we assessed the viability of the technology, optimized performance, and prioritized player safety. We built prototypes, working with players, not just as end users, but as product managers. In tandem, we worked with communications experts at AT&T to develop the backend work needed for a world-class communications app for coaches, which would let them send plays directly to the 5G helmet. Next, we crash tested the prototype — where it promptly and horrifyingly failed. But we pressed on, committed to endless iterations. Until we finally passed crash testing. Radiation testing. Network connectivity testing. In the end, it took 2 years 6 months and 3 weeks to develop a game-ready AT&T 5G Helmet, with our entire organization behind it, and one pretty amazing football team in Washington, DC, excited to use it.

AT&T produced 15 5G football helmets that underwent rigorous radiation, connectivity, and crash testing to ensure approval by the NCAA. For more than two years, we worked with football coaches and players at Gallaudet University, developing the helmet to their specifications using custom and off-the-shelf components. The base is a Riddell SpeedFlex helmet custom-made to fit the exact measurements of its player. Each helmet is equipped with a pinhole in-visor AR lens and runs communication through an AT&T 5G microprocessor. The helmet was then custom-painted to reflect AT&T's brand colors using a variation of gradients and design that brings to life the visual elements of the helmet.