DraftKings and Martin Lawrence Play Head Games in NFL Blitz

Always a safe bet for broad humor, Martin Lawrence quarterbacks a fresh flight of NFL-themed ads from DraftKings. They take place inside a bettor’s brain, as the comedian and Bad Boys star struggles to mediate conflicting “feels” about which teams and players to pick.

Confidence, indecision, logic and “chill”—personified by a quartet of comic actors—clash on a set that looks like a game show crossed with mission control. We’d wager that DraftKings’ Sportsbook app helps them sort things out in the end:

Shot sitcom-style by Caviar L.A. director Jason Woliner, the work follows DraftKings’ recent comedy outing with daredevil athletes that ran on the Olympics. These new spots sport similar silliness. Lawrence mugs and quips for all he’s worth, backed by manic performances from Kristen Schaal (as “Confidence”), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (“Indecision”), Timothy Simons (“Logic”) and Dascha Polanco (“Chill”).

“We wanted to create this space where we get to follow a customer’s roller-coaster ride of thoughts and feelings and show how crazy, fantastical and humorously bizarre things can get at times,” says Michael Shonkoff, VP of brand at DraftKings, the official sports betting partner of the NFL. “You may be struggling to make a choice—then boom! you’re overconfident. Then back to indecision. Then chill and mellow. Then back to going with your gut.”

“Feels” conveys that vibe, even if some of the jokes are a tad hard to catch. Lawrence appears in 10 spots all told, which began breaking last week across ESPN, YouTube, the NFL Network and other platforms, with social support on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok and Reddit. 

It arrives as DraftKings drives into new territory. The Boston-based company just acquired Golden Nugget Online Gaming for $1.6 billion and also launched a marketplace with NFTs and other collectibles from icons like Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Naomi Osaka and Wayne Gretzky.

CREDITS

Agency
DraftKings
Paul Renner, Creative Director
Mark St. Amant, Creative Director
Steve Baker, Creative Director
Todd Buckholt, Sr. Copywriter
Dan Winske, Lead.Art Director
Michael Shonkoff, VP Agency & Brand Strategy
Andrew Schiel, Sr. Manager, Consumer Product Marketing
Sarah Juselius, Sr. Dir. Creative Operations
Brittany Allen, Manager, Program Management
Meghan Nappi, Business Affairs Manager
Mary D. Hanifin, Executive Producer/Producer

Production
Caviar LA, LLC
Jason Woliner, Director
Michael Sagol, Executive Producer
Kim Dellara, Executive Producer
Casey Wooden, Head of Production
Tova Dann, Producer

Editorial
PS260
JJ Lask, Editor
Chris Nicastro, Assistant Editor
Erica Verga, Assistant Editor 
Raná Martin, Executive Producer
Zarina Mak, Managing Partner

VFX/Finishing
Jamm Visual
Adam Scott, Colorist
Carver Moore, Color Assistant
Anna Dood, Color Producer
Toma Bowen, VFX Supervisor
Tim Robbins, Lead Flame Artist
Ryland Bowen-Johnson, Flame Artist
Eric Weinschenk, Nuke Artist
Adrien Servadio, Flame Artist
Patrick Munoz, Flame Artist
Mike Wigart, VFX Producer
Alexandra Rickards, Production Coordinator
Asher Edwards, Executive Producer

Sound Design/Music
duotone audio group
Peter Nashel, Creative Director/Founder
Ross Hopman, Executive Producer
Gio Lobato, Sound Designer

Audio 
PS260 Audio
Nicole Pettigrew, Audio Engineer

Talent Procurement
160over90
Rachel Goldman, Sr. Director
Kelsey Gray Sherman, Director
Mike Lewinsky, SVP