Clio Sports Awards Show

NFL's George Kittle Rocks a New Hairdo for DirecTV

They took a little off the top. A lot, actually

What’s making such a racket on the roof!? Is San Francisco 49ers tight-end George Kittle and his famously flowing locks up there?

George makes a diverting DirecTV pitch via TBWA\Chiat\Day L.A.—sporting a chrome-dome with silky, shaggy sides—to trumpet the service’s dish-free options for NFL and college football.

“George was really kind and fun to work with,” recalls agency senior art director Laurie Dickey. “He easily leaned into the role and hammed it up. His personality naturally lent itself to the dramatic poses and silliness we were looking for.”

He looks kind of like Fabio. An oddly balding Fabio. You rock, DTV!

“After the shoot, he was going out in Nashville, and asked if he could keep the look on,” adds senior copywriter Lex Singer. “But the makeup artist said it would be a nightmare for him to take off by himself. So he opted not to wear it out on the town.”

Maybe next time, Big Guy.

The push follows DTV ads with Deion Sanders, Henry Winkler and Steve Buscemi voicing pigeons, plus a baseball-themed outing with MLB Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.

Those are fun. But Kittle’s commercial scores equally well, with ArtClass director Vince Peone displaying a keen eye for hirsute absurdity.

2024 Lifetime Achievement Award