Jerry Rice Plays Prankster in NFL Playoffs Ad for DraftKings

It’s wet! It’s wacky! It’s buckets of fun!

Legendary wide receiver Jerry Rice grabs a big-ass cooler and helps a DraftKings winner celebrate—NFL sidelines style!—in the sports betting brand’s new commercial timed to the playoffs:

Nice PJs in the bedroom scene, Jerry! That’s actor Marlon Daniel Cowart getting drenched—repeatedly. Maybe he shouldn’t let Rice hang out around his house anymore.

“Everyone had a good time—from the director to the crew to the DraftKings team,” Rice recalls. “It’s not every day I get to dump a cooler on someone 20 times!”

“He had never dumped a cooler during his entire career. So, this was a first for him, and he was very excited,” says DraftKings VP of brand and sports marketing Michael Shonkoff.

Instead of Gatorade, Rice showered Cowart with water and orange food coloring—the same hue as the crown in DraftKings’ logo.

“On set, we were all pretty nervous,” Shonkoff says. “It’s not easy to just grab another take when you’re dumping liquid into someone’s bed. But Jerry was perfect the entire day. Each cooler dump was done in one take.”

Developed in-house with production company Sweet Rickey and director Max Gutierrez, the :30 breaks today across local TV. National broadcast begins this weekend during NFL wild-card coverage.

Of sports betting’s surge in popularity—DraftKings reported a 60 percent revenue surge for its most recent quarter—Rice says: “It has exploded. Now, you have the leagues, teams and major networks embracing it, because there’s a lot of money to be made. It’s only going to get bigger with the state of sports and technology.”

The spot follows drier but equally zany efforts with comedian Martin Lawrence and former NBA star Paul Pierce. The brand also dabbled in extreme sports humor last summer.

“Working with athletes, including some of the all-time greats, has always been a part of our strategy,” Shonkoff says. “It’s a great way to connect with fans and break through during competitive moments on the sports calendar.”

CREDITS

Draftkings

Stephanie Sherman – SVP, Channel Marketing
Josh Levin-Scherz – Sr. Director, Growth Marketing
Ethan Shibutani – Sr. Manager, Growth Marketing
Lindsey Guptill – Manager, Growth Marketing
Quinn Kane – Growth Marketing Coordinator
Russell Tanguay – Associate General Counsel
Raleigh Anne Gray – Director, Business Development
Bear Duker – Director, Influencer & Talent Partnerships
Kyle Beaudouin – Senior Manager, Influencer & Talent Partnerships
Michael Shonkoff – VP Brand & Sports Marketing
Steve Baker – Creative Director
Matt Zaifert – Associate Creative Director
Sam Johnson – Sr. Art Director
Sarah Juselius – Sr. Director of Creative Operations
Carly O’Hare – Sr. Project Manager
Mary D Hanifin – Executive Producer
Jake Williams – Producer
Meghan Gildart Nappi – Business Affairs
Tom Rigia – Director Production
Liz Kavanaugh – Program Manager
Jason Brennan – Sr Video Editor

Production
Sweet Rickey
Max Gutierrez – Director
Vanessa Longborn – Executive Producer
Scott Burtnett – Executive Producer

Audio
HiFi Project
Jack Bradley – Partner/Executive Producer
Patrick Navarre – Sound Engineer