It was hard enough shooting a live commercial in the Arizona desert before sudden winds slammed into FanDuel’s newly constructed ‘Kick of Destiny’ set as retired NFL star Rob Gronkowski was preparing for a 25-yard field goal.
The dwindling sunlight necessitated the erection of elaborate lighting fixtures, all of which were now in danger of blowing away as showtime approached on Super Bowl Sunday in 2023.
‘There are literally these little tornadoes of dust going across the field,’ Gerard Caputo, group creative director at ad agency Wieden + Kennedy New York, told DailyMail.com of the 35mph crosswinds.
And then there was the ice.
Gronkowski, a former tight end humorously miscast in the role of a placekicker, had been reliably making his warmups as the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles were off playing Super Bowl LVII down in Miami. But, without a firm start time for the live commercial, Gronkowski was facing an indeterminable stretch of inactivity amid the surging gales.
‘I think in retrospect, I would have had him keep kicking through that because it’s like the worst icing of a kicker you’ll ever have,’ Caputo said, referring to football coaches’ tactic of calling timeouts to frustrate opposing kickers before critical field-goal attempts. ‘When he went to kick, it actually looked like it was going to make it, and then the last possible second it just went left because of the wind.’
Rob Gronkowski insisted on having the throwback single-bar facemask kickers once wore
Gronkowski had been reliably making his warmup kicks before a stiff desert wind arrived
Dressed in a farcical FanDuel football uniform with a throwback single-bar facemask, Gronkowski fell to his knees before writhing around on the turf as his family and legendary NFL kicker Adam Vinatieri appeared to console him.
To viewers, who were told $10 million in bonus bets were on the line, Gronkowski’s over-the-top reaction was sensible, if a bit overdramatic.
But the kick didn’t actually matter as far as gamblers were concerned. FanDuel customers who wagered at least $5 on Super Bowl LVII all received credits on the website regardless of the outcome, so Gronkowski’s theatrics were exactly that: theatrics.
All of this is to say that the Kick of Destiny was never about Gronkowski making a 25-yard field goal or whether Peyton or Eli Manning will win the third installment of the ad campaign before Super Bowl LIX on Sunday in New Orleans. From the perspective of FanDuel, or just about any Super Bowl sponsor, such campaigns have always been about creating a alternate reality – something fans can escape into 30 seconds at a time.
And in this world, a celebrated NFL tight end and two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks are curiously invested in splitting the uprights.
‘Anyone that works in marketing outside of the US is fascinated by Super Bowl Sunday commercials,’ Andrew Sneyd, FanDuel’s executive vice president marketing at FanDuel, told DailyMail.com.
Rob Gronkowski attends the FanDuel Super Bowl party powered by Spotify on February 09, 2024 in Las Vegas. He would go on to miss the second Kick of Destiny just days later
Peyton and Eli Manning (right) are now up against each other in the Kick of Destiny
What’s remarkable, Sneyd explained, is the audience’s willing participation in the fantastical storylines. Whereas viewers might impatiently flip channels during other self-contained commercials, Super Bowl Sunday’s ads give sponsors an uninterrupted exchange with customers over a series of spots.
‘[Foreign advertisers] just don’t understand how, as an industry, the US has been able to build a ‘shushing’ environment for the commercials,’ Sneyd continued.
And it’s not just gameday ads.
‘I think brands that use this moment well do more than just short-term sell on the day itself,’ Sneyd said.
He pointed to a previous employer, Anheuser-Busch, which used celebrated campaigns such as the Bud Bowls to build excitement around its product in the days and weeks leading up to the big game.
FanDuel has done exactly that with its first two installments of the Kick of Destiny, both of which generated a tremendous response for the company. Yes, Gronkowski missed both kicks, but the sports book has nonetheless doled out $27 million in bonus bets to customers. In fact, FanDuel added $7 million to the payout in 2023 as a result of the massive customer engagement.
‘You have an excited, shushed audience in living rooms all over America,’ Sneyd said. ‘The more you can be a part of their day, you earn a lot of credit as a brand that understands the moment and that you are a brand that can be trusted and built into the enjoyment of making the most out of [their] fandom.’
Gronkowski missed his second attempt at the Kick of Destiny, which was also a live ad
Again, Gronkowski insisted on having the single-bar kicker facemask from the 70s and 80s
Similar Super Bowl ad campaigns such as the Bud Bowl ramped up in the weeks beforehand
And it’s that trust that’s most important.
That’s one reason the Kick of Destiny spots have been live events, an extreme rarity for Super Bowl commercials, but something that’s rather appropriate for a sports book.
‘I think, for us, it’s just about authenticity,’ Sneyd said. ‘I mean, FanDuel’s business is live sports.’
Of course, live commercials are considerably more complicated.
Take last year, when Gronkowski attempted a Kick of Destiny sequel in another live sport before Super Bowl LVIII. Needing a second version of the ad to run during the game, Caputo and his team rushed to edit the live footage of Gronkowski missing the Kick of Destiny 2 with some pre-recorded ‘fallout.’
And since the sports book and its agency didn’t know if Gronkowski would make the kick, they were forced to record reactions to both potential outcomes prior to the live commercial on Super Bowl Sunday.
‘There’s actually a version of the spot that never ran,’ Caputo said.
‘I always it felt like it was a bit of an experiment,’ he continued. ‘And for clients to invest all this money into a Super Bowl ad and not know the outcome is a crazy thing. Like, they don’t do that. So I give [FanDuel] a lot of credit.’
Gronkowski’s inclusion also helped to build trust with customers.
Not only is he a recognizable Super Bowl winner, but he’s something of an everyman to fans, even if most NFL viewers don’t have his 6-foot-4 frame, athleticism, wealth, or his model girlfriend, Camille Kostek.
Gronkowski is seen as relatable to many NFL fans, even if they don’t have his 6-foot-4 frame, athleticism, wealth or his Sports Illustrated swimsuit model girlfriend Camille Kostek (right)
‘He is genuinely a very straightforward, good guy,’ Sneyd said of Gronkowski, who remains a FanDuel spokesman despite passing on the Kick of Destiny torch. ‘He is that genuine, honest, open, caring guy that you see on camera. That is not him being an incredible actor.’
He’s also easy to work with, polite, friendly, and punctual. As Sneyd remembers, the only thing Gronkowski insisted on was that throw-back single-back kicker’s facemask.
Fans can also trust that Gronkowski, or the Mannings for that matter, are all genuinely working to make these kicks. When Gronkowski’s father reminded the retired NFL star of his struggles as a high-school kicker, the former Patriots star proudly recalled making at least one attempt.
And according to Sneyd, that exchange showed Gronkowski’s competitive spirit, which was central to the campaign, even if his ability to make the kick was secondary.
‘Whether it’s Rob or the Mannings, ex-athletes just have a competitive streak,’ Sneyd said.
Eli Manning’s younger self lines up a field goal in FanDuel’s fantastical new campaign
A defiant Eli (left) lashes out at Peyton’s younger self (right) in the new FanDuel ad
Peyton is seen using grippers while laughing at brother Eli’s dream of being a kicker
Both Caputo and Sneyd see similar trust between fans and the Mannings, who have both been in the public eye since growing up as the sons of decorated New Orleans Saints quarterback Arch Manning in the 1970s and 80s.
Along the way, they developed a well-publicized brotherly rivalry, which FanDuel tapped into for the latest installment of the Kick of Destiny centering on Eli’s far-fetched hopes of becoming a kicker.
‘I’ll finally be a kicker, like I always dreamed,’ the youngest Manning brother says as a flashback sequence ensues in the opening spot from this year’s campaign.
Seen in a wig, zip-up jacket, jeans and a polo shirt, Eli is suddenly transported back to his childhood in the 1980s.
‘It all comes down to this folks,’ he says as he lines up a field-goal attempt in a small park.
It’s then that Peyton is seen mocking his younger brother from the sidelines.
‘You’ll never be kicker, Eli,’ says the laughing Peyton, who is also wearing an 80s-style wig. ‘You’ll just have to be a quarterback like me and dad.’
The obvious joke here is that the Mannings are all quarterbacks: Archie (Saints, Oilers), Peyton (Colts, Broncos), Eli (Giants), and even older brother Cooper’s son Arch is an NFL prospect at Texas.
‘They’re pretending Eli wanted to be a kicker,’ Caputo said, ‘as if, in the Manning family, if someone wanted to be a kicker, that’s controversial.’
The goal, Caputo explained, was to create another evolution for the Kick of Destiny. Likening the campaign to the Fast & Furious action movie franchise, Caputo said each year is about adding another element, be it new vehicle or another action star, like Jason Statham or Dwayne Johnson.
This year’s excitement centers on the Mannings’ brotherly rivalry playing out live on Fox’s pre-game show before Sunday’s Super Bowl. FanDuel customers can now choose which brother will win the kicking competition for a chance at a share of $10 million in bonus bets. And the fact that it’s taking place in the Manning’s hometown of New Orleans is just a ‘wonderful bonus,’ according to Sneyd.
‘This is really going to strike a chord,’ he added.
Yes, the promotional world created for FanDuel’s Kick of Destiny is fake and fastastical, but the Wieden + Kennedy campaign has infused it with real drama.
And even if the Manning brothers are 40-something retirees, their bond with fans as well as their natural competitiveness promises to keep fans interested.
‘A lot of people can relate to that,’ Caputo said. ‘Maybe they’re feeling it a little bit more, but there’s a human truth powering each one of these things.’
