Objectives

Our objective was to create and deliver an urgent, gripping, and thought-provoking PSA to raise awareness of the link between youth tackle football and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Specifically, the PSA aims to educate parents on research showing that their child’s odds of developing CTE increase by 30% per year of tackle football played. Choosing flag football until age 14 can make a dramatic difference in preventing the neurodegenerative disease.

For years, we have led the charge in educating the public on our brain bank research that show the dangers of football for young athletes, but the data can be difficult for many who love the game to reckon with. For this spot to have optimal impact, we knew we had to bring in someone instantly recognizable, and beloved in the football community to deliver the message. Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre filled the role perfectly. Once named “The Toughest Guy in America,” we knew he could get those who might normally scoff at the message to pay attention.

Ultimately, we used the experiences of families who have lost a loved one to CTE, and the clinical research about the symptoms of the disease, to inform our script. We wanted the PSA to pose a powerful, educational message about the symptoms and risks of CTE. It was made provocative in hopes the public would pay attention to the messaging and make informed decisions to keep their children safe and help prevent CTE.

Strategy and Execution

We collaborated with Yellowhaus Studio to make our vision for the PSA a reality. There were many factors to consider in the creation and execution of our plan, including:

• Writing an engaging script that would hook viewers emotionally to keep them engaged long enough to experience the reveal of Brett Favre.
• Finding the appropriate location for filming in Favre’s rural town in a short window of his availability.
• Collaborating with production on the set and building a custom dolly track around the kitchen to make the family conversation come to life. Further, utilizing dramatic lighting and intentional camera movements to draw the audience into the story and portray specific emotions.
• Casting talented actors to play realistic younger versions of Favre.
• Post-production challenges of layering the editing just right to accomplish the aging technique while still fitting into a tight 60 second spot.

Results

We gave NBC’s The TODAY Show an exclusive to release the PSA during its 9AM hour. It debuted the PSA in full and interviewed Brett Favre live. Both Favre and CLF CEO Chris Nowinski were also interviewed on CNN shortly after. The PSA was then quickly picked up by major national outlets and the largest print and online media publications including:

ABC News, CBS News, USA Today, NPR, FOX News, The Washington Post, MSNBC, People, Bleacher Report, The Hill, Yahoo!, and many more.

The viral PSA was an enormous success. A media tracking company estimated the Advertising Value Equivalency of our earned media from the PSA at $10.3 million, and our potential reach at 1.1 billion. It is now CLF’s most-watched Twitter and YouTube video of all-time. It smashed previous records, having surpassed over 215K views on Twitter and 130K views on YouTube.

Above all, the PSA accomplished its goal of impacting parents and making waves across the football community, leading to endorsements from both current and former NFL players, including Courtland Sutton, Shea McClellin, and Aaron Ripkowski.

Media