Unreal Moments and Slick Players Capture New Energy of the Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League (CFL) and full-service agency Juliet Creative have partnered to inject new energy into the league for the 2024 season, which kicked off on June 6th.

The new campaign is titled, Keep it Unreal. It steers clear of high-octane sports marketing tropes, trite buzzwords and tired techniques. Instead, focusses on the core of the CFL – incredible plays made by dazzling athletes, unbelievable twists and wild turns leading to slack-jawed silence, action that defies expectation, and outcomes that border on fictional.

“After over fifty interviews and several trips out to games, it became clear to us that the CFL has exactly what modern sports fans want, but some just don’t know it yet,” said Kaiti Snell, head of strategy at Juliet. “The CFL is all about huge plays, rivalries, skill and above all else, fun – we don’t need to dress it up; let’s peel back the layers and really spotlight what’s already there.”

The CFL is building upon a season in which overall broadcast ratings increased by nine per cent, including 34 per cent in the key 25-54 demographic. In 2023, fans flocked to the league’s digital channels, resulting in year-over-year increases of 19 per cent in engagement, 10 per cent in audience growth and 55 per cent in average video views.

“Keep it Unreal will add to the crescendo of all that we’ve accomplished over the past few seasons, before turning up the volume even more,” said Craig Garvie, senior vice-president of marketing and communications at the CFL. “Juliet took the time to understand our fans and their incredible passion for our fun, fast and entertaining brand of football, and that insight has been weaved throughout this campaign.”

The CFL and its nine member clubs bring Keep it Unreal to life through a league-led tagline, a unique visual identity, and branded merchandise and activations throughout the season. TSN and RDS – Canada’s home of the CFL – will feature Keep it Unreal in various TV spots, highlighting the biggest moments of the year, including season kick off, the Grey Cup Playoffs, and more.

Ryan Bullock, president at Juliet, relished the opportunity to not only work with the CFL, but to also strengthen his team’s ties to the three-down game.

“This is a long time coming for us and we’re thrilled with the opportunity to create something new and fresh for the league. The CFL means so much to Canadians and to all of us at Juliet. We’ve been the biggest fans in the stands, and to now step onto the side lines as partners with this beloved, legendary league is so amazing and certainly, unreal.”