GYK Antler Captures the 'Blood, Sweat and 100 Years' of the Boston Bruins in Latest Campaign

When we think hockey (Bruins hockey specifically) we think gritty, tough, hard-nosed play. We think about a century of blood and sweat.

Integrated creative agency GYK Antler and production company Big Brick created the long-form spot 'Stitches' to kick off the Boston Bruins’ centennial season for Opening Night on October 11, as an expression of the 'Blood, Sweat & 100 Years' centennial brand platform.

On the surface, 'Stitches' refers to the sewing up of a cut on a player's face (right before heading back to the ice without missing a shift). But it also refers to the stitching found in Bruins’ jerseys for the last 100 years. It’s the gold thread that connects 1924 to today.

The spot is a love letter to the city of Boston and generations of fans. It lets us reflect on a century’s worth of Bruins hockey through the lens of a lifelong fan. It’s in this fan’s workshop where we see a massive wall covered with artifacts, photos, books, scoresheets, and memorabilia amassed over the years.

We see our “stitcher” pull a gold thread from a spool, a custom score kicks in and the rest is…well, history. As the stitcher begins his work, he looks at this wall, with each artifact triggering a memory, bringing viewers through a historical journey of Bruins moments and lore.

As he finishes and admires his work, his granddaughter walks in. He presents her a Bruins jersey that he’s been stitching the centennial crest onto – she represents the next generation of Bruins fans and hockey players. As they walk out of the workshop there is an ominous push into the wall. The silence is palpable as the music motif/theme kicks back in to symbolize the gold thread continuing for another 100 years.

Scott Nicholson, creative director at GYK Antler, said, "Blood, Sweat & 100 Years taps into the grit, passion and loyalty of the Bruins, the fans and the city of Boston. It’s a platform that defines what it means to be a Bruin and is used as a connective thread for a long list of celebrations the Bruins will roll out during the Centennial season. We kicked this off with a short film called “Stitches.” It’s a spot that looks back at a century's worth of memories through the lens of a lifelong Bruins fan, while nodding to the future and passing the torch to the next generation, and to the next 100 years."