Antics like flying pigs and talking babies are usually reserved for Super Bowl Sunday. But the NFL is making a zany play to kick off football season with an AI-generated ad.
Today (Sept. 4), the league and 72andSunny debuted “You Better Believe,” a campaign that captures the fandom, traditions, and quirks of all 32 teams in a single spot. The centerpiece is a massive, AI-generated parade float that would have been impossible under older production methods, said 72andSunny founder Glenn Cole.
“None of us felt bound by reality,” Cole said. “If we’re in an environment with a tool that can help us express anything, let’s not short our imagination… The fact that we knew we could maybe do anything pushed us to do more tough stuff.”
The float anchors a montage of winks to team lore: an ice sculpture of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback; “Black Hole” section at the Las Vegas Raiders stadium; a flying pig nodding to Washington Commanders mascot Major Tuddy; comedian Druski on a Miami dolphin; and a Detroit Lion biting a drumstick—a reference to coach Dan Campbell’s famous “bite a kneecap off” quote.
The ad, styled like a music video, features a new version of Quad City DJ’s 1996 hit “C’Mon ‘N Ride The Train.” Lyrics even inspired some AI prompts, said Marissa Solis, senior vice president of global brand and consumer marketing for the NFL.
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Using AI saved the NFL money and time, said chief marketing officer Tim Ellis, who estimated that producing a similar spot with traditional CGI would have cost five times more. He and Cole previously worked on multimillion-dollar CGI projects for Call of Duty, where productions could take months.
But leaning on AI wasn’t just a budgetary shortcut. AI enabled ideas that otherwise “would’ve died on arrival,” Cole said.
The production blended live action, CGI, and AI. Sometimes AI was the fastest solution, like for making the lion’s fur, but other times CGI gave the team more control, said Lora Schulson, 72andSunny’s head of production.
“We really needed a robust VFX pipeline,” she added.
The NFL has already been experimenting with AI across marketing and operations. It partnered with Adobe to scale personalized campaigns for fans, streamlined media search tools with AWS, and adopted Microsoft Copilot for analytics, video reviews, and safety protocols.
Meanwhile, specific teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been using generative AI in their own marketing.
The start of every football season creates an opportunity to either elevate or transcend the sport, said Ellis.
“More than we’ve seen in a long time, there’s just this real need and desire to find a sense of joy and escape,” he said.
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