This spot about NFL Sunday Ticket was created for the Super Bowl, featured NFL athletes and was made in partnership with the NFL. Using a playful metaphor, the spot reassured fans watching the Super Bowl (on the last day of the season) that even though the season was over, a new one would return shortly…just as nature (and football) intended.

Selling subscriptions to a Sunday football TV package (NFL Sunday Ticket) on the last day of football (the Super Bowl) might sound counterintuitive. But when you look at NFL fans’ mindset during this time, it’s actually quite the opposite. After the Super Bowl, football goes away and fans are left staring down the barrel of a cold, bleak, football-less winter. But the great thing about football is that it always comes back. We wanted to remind fans of that and ignite both hope and excitement in them for the coming season.

Super Bowl 2024 marked the end of the first-ever season where fans could get NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube. And while Season 1 had been a success for YouTube in terms of new customers, there was still a healthy amount of work to be done.

We had 29 years and millions of dollars of competitive spend still to overcome to get out-of-market fans to know NFL football was now on YouTube. So our Super Bowl objective was clear: use the most-watched day of the season to let people know that the new home of NFL Sunday Ticket was on YouTube.

Our core audience is “out-of-market” NFL fans. NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube is a natural fit for this audience as it is comprised of NFL fans who are constantly seeking their teams’ games. But Super Bowl is a moment that all fans watch, and as such we needed to meet more than just our core audience in this moment.

And this moment is a strange one. While it’s the biggest show in football, and one team will win, it’s also the end of the season for every team. For fans, this is the beginning of their dreaded winter of no content. From Super Bowl on there is no football, only a huge void.

Our strategy was simple: address this end of season football void.

One thing we know for certain is that every year, football season ends. But there’s hope. Because another thing we know for certain is that football season always comes back. As sure as the sun will rise, there will be more football in our future. And NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube TV will be there to help us greet the new season as it dawns.

In our spot, we ignite hope for the coming season by exploring the migratory patterns of NFL teams. By depicting NFL athletes like literal migrating birds, we are able to underscore the fact that, just like nature, football follows a pattern that will return it to us shortly. This reminds people of the season ahead and amplifies the brand message that it’s never too early to sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube TV—the best way to watch the coming season.

Teaching grown athletes how to fly like birds was no small feat. We started practically, swinging flapping stuntmen strapped in harnesses across blue screens and out of pools. Given that our spot filmed during an intense time for pro football (the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl), key talent wasn’t available to perform on set - so, we met them in their home cities and scanned their faces and bodies, which were seamlessly integrated into the spot - giving the impression that Tyler Lockett, Mark Andrews, and D’Andre Swift were actually embodying their team’s namesake animals. The practical shoot took place over 5 additional days.

In addition to the athletes, we partnered with YouTube creators to not only appear in the spot itself, but also to help us reach people on a greater scale with teasers and BTS video.

Ultimately, our spot aired during the Super Bowl Pre-Kick Show.

Getting fans to prioritize an NFL subscription service 6 months ahead of the new season was a tall order. But we took it on, leveraging the biggest stage in football to anchor ourselves in the minds of avid NFL fans. 99.2MM saw the spot, with MarketCast citing positive buzz for Migration +7 points higher than all other 2024 Super Bowl ads.

It blew past recall and breakthrough performance norms with our avid NFL demo and among those with intent to purchase, moved them +10 points closer to a pre-season purchase. It drove significantly more engagement and positive sentiment (+47pts) on owned platforms than previous years’ Super Bowl ads and contributed to a 54% YOY increase in YouTube TV and NFL Sunday Ticket game day mentions on social.

Yahoo Sports gave it an A, it trended on YouTube, and had the highest enjoyment rating in the history of YouTube TV ads.