Verizon wanted to turn its NFL partnership into magic for Super Bowl LX, offering not just tickets, but exclusive, life-changing experiences. The only path to entry was the MyVerizon app. The problem? Customers were oblivious to the giveaway and unaware of the app. We needed to bridge the gap between unknown prize and an ignored platform.
For Super Bowl LX, Verizon aimed to do more than run a commercial; they wanted to revolutionize the fan experience. The brand offered unprecedented access to the game and "once-in-a-lifetime" rewards, but there was a significant barrier: everything was locked behind the MyVerizon app—a long-standing utility that suffered from "invisibility" among customers. The challenge was to turn a forgotten app into a culturally relevant moment during the NFL playoffs.
Our insight was simple: anyone can make it to the Super Bowl, provided they have the right tool. To prove it, we didn't make an ad; we staged a comeback. We enlisted Kevin Hart to coach the "saddest team imaginable"—a squad of lovable losers representing every fan stuck on the couch.
The idea was to disguise a dry product tutorial as a viral halftime speech. Hart delivered a high-octane motivational roast, screaming a simple instruction that doubled as a rallying cry: "Tap that app!" By wrapping a user manual in comedy, we bypassed ad blindness. "Tap that app" became an instant mantra, successfully repositioning the MyVerizon app from a forgotten utility into the exclusive portal for Super Bowl access.
The results were undeniable. The campaign became Verizon’s most successful celebrity partnership in two years, generating 9.2 million impressions and 99% positive sentiment. It was listed in Teen Vogue as one of the best Super Bowl commercials of 2026, despite not being an actual Super Bowl commercial. On top of that, we shattered internal engagement benchmarks and drove a +9 point lift in brand sentiment, proving that with the right coach, even a utility app can win the Super Bowl.
