ESPN Crafts One Last Emotional Ad for the College Football Season

Only the national championship game remains of the 2019-20 college football season. And ESPN, which will air tonight’s matchup between LSU and Clemson, is amping up excitement for the game with a promo running today that takes a look back at some of the emotional storylines of the season. 

The rise of the SMU Mustangs. Michigan State cornerback Josh Butler, whose parents both died within the past three years, bringing his dogs to his final collegiate game. Georgia Bulldog fans supporting Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson after his wife Wendy died of cancer. Casey O’Brien, himself a four-time cancer survivor, getting his first career hold on a point-after kick for Minnesota. 

All those moments, and more, are captured in the :30 below from McKinney:

It’s a nice bookend to a campaign that kicked off on Aug. 27 with this spot, directed by Peter Berg, which featured 23 college football programs across its 60 seconds. 

A rep for McKinney calls the final spot “the perfect punctuation for a season that celebrated 150 years of college football, capturing moments that make the game timeless and universal.” 

CREDITS

Agency: McKinney
Client: ESPN
Campaign: The Game Needs Us

Chief Creative Officer: Jonathan Cude
Group Creative Director: Lyle Yetman
Creative Director: David Sloan
Art Director: Kelly Fitzgerald
Senior Producer: Nick Brenton
Executive Producer: Cathy Wilson
Senior Integrated Producer: Kara O’Halloran
Production Coordinator: Julia Brown
Editor: Nick Adcock
Business Affairs Manager: Miriam Hughes
Chief Strategy Officer: Walt Barron
Strategy Director: Kevin Murray
Account Director: Ryan Gardiner
Account Supervisor: Maggie O’Donnell
Account Manager: Meghan Moloney

Trailblazer Studios
Scott Roy, SVP Post Production
Alan Maynard, Color Grading
Nitesh Patel, Visual Effects
David Hill, Sound Design & Mix