ESPN is gearing up for the first Monday Night Football game of the season with its “Ready. Check. Football” commercials in collaboration with Arts & Letters Creative Co.
In the creative, ESPN highlights how readiness plays out in the football world. Need to set your fantasy football team name? “Check.” Have to find that fresh-cleaned Aaron Rodgers New York Jets jersey to put on? “Check.” All across the US in various settings, fan bases are checking items off their list in preparation for kickoff, and in preparation for the readiness of the NFL, a checklist can take on a life of its own.
“We started with a simple fan truth, that every fan anticipates and prepares for the start of the football season,” said ESPN senior director of sports marketing Curtis Friends. “So for this year’s Ready For Football campaign, we had fun along with fans building the ultimate checklist and showcasing how the football world gets ready.”
Notable features within the ads include the aforementioned Jefferson, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, ESPN’s Monday Night Football duo Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, the Manningcast duo Peyton and Eli Manning, and New England Patriots head coach Bill Belicheck, among other players, fans, mascots, and more.
Said Andrew Kong, creative director at Arts & Letters, “Another year of football means another year of getting NFL fans ready for another year of the NFL on ESPN. What better way to do that than with an epic checklist filled with fired-up fans and check mark-shaped meats?”