Deion 'Coach Prime' Sanders Joins the Flock in DIRECTV Campaign

Award-winning actors Steve Buscemi and Henry Winkler reprise their roles as Spokesbirds Frank and Bobby in the latest iteration of DIRECTV’s 'For the Birds', but this time there’s a new personality perched on their satellite-free rooftops. 

On August 12th, Deion 'Coach Prime' Sanders will star in the DIRECTV campaign 'For the Birds' as ‘Coach Pigeon Prime’ - his first animated role - just in time for football season.

The addition of Sanders to the flock creates new dynamics for the spokesbirds: 

• Frank is a bit starstruck and more than ready to do anything their new ‘coach’ asks of them.
• Bobby, unsurprisingly, is less impressed - and maybe even a little threatened. Adding a third to any established relationship is always tricky territory.

In the first edition of 'For the Birds', Frank and Bobby were hatched to tell the world that you can finally get DIRECTV without a satellite dish (much to the chagrin of birds everywhere). The challenge was: how does the brand continue to educate the world about satellite-free DIRECTV while also touting their gameday bona-fides for pro and college football? So, the brand drafted a new teammate - Deion 'Coach Prime' Sanders - to voice the newest member of the flock.

With 'For the Birds', DIRECTV is continuing to bust the 'DIRECTV = satellite' misconception by not only speaking about the delivery mechanism but the key entertainment that streamers are looking to effortlessly access this fall. 

Excitement around football is at an all-time high since the '90s with the NFL ‘23 regular season viewership rising to 17.9m (ESPN). Watching football via streaming continues to skyrocket with streaming subscription services as the #1 way people watched football during the 2023 season (Statista). So, the new iteration of the campaign reinforces the brand’s leadership in both pro and college football with the pigeons observing DIRECTV users streaming their games without a satellite dish. 

Created in collaboration with creative agency TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, this 360 campaign will launch :30s, :15s and additional cutdowns across TV/OTT, digital video, social, display, out of home, and audio; extending beyond to paid, owned, and earned channels. 

"We're thrilled to bring back DIRECTV's favourite spokesbirds, Frank & Bobby, for another campaign. It was very exciting to see audiences embrace and enjoy the duo after their first campaign took flight. This time, we're even more excited to introduce a new member to the flock, voiced by the legendary Deion Sanders, just in time for football season. Deion was a joy to work with - and surprising to no one, he effortlessly stepped into the role of ‘coach’ for our two birds. Deion had no problem whatsoever bringing a believable performance when tasked with whipping our two complaining pigeons into shape." said Mark Winters, creative director, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA. 

In parallel with the start of football season, DIRECTV is partnering with DraftKings to offer fans a shot at real cash prizes as they cheer for their drafted rosters in a custom free-to-play Daily Fantasy Contest series. Frank & Bobby will be hosting five custom games throughout the season.

'For the Birds' follows in the brand’s 2024 mission to educate consumers about DIRECTV’s streaming options, crushing any misconceptions that DIRECTV is only satellite TV.