As the sports and media world converges on the San Francisco Bay Area next month for the Super Bowl, The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the league will also be pushing to make the Big Game the center of the creator universe, with more than 160 creators across various social platforms set to film content during Super Bowl Week.
“Creators have been a core part of our fan engagement strategy for many seasons, so we’re excited to bring some of the most popular names to Super Bowl 60,” said Ian Trombetta, NFL senior VP of global influencer and content marketing. “As we work with partners like YouTube and Snapchat to bring over 160 creators to the Bay, we have the unique opportunity to give creators the key to one of the biggest cultural events in the world, empowering them to create and distribute original NFL content to young audiences all over the world.”
One of those creators will be Dhar Mann, who has leveraged YouTube and other platforms to develop a serious scripted entertainment studio. The NFL says that Mann is being named the league’s “Chief Kindness Officer,” in reference to the uplifting content he produces, as well as the league’s “Creator of the Week” leading up to the Super Bowl.
Mann will release content on his channels, as well as through the NFL’s YouTube channel, and will “lead a series of digital, social, and on-the-ground activations designed to activate kindness and sportsmanship across fans and players throughout Super Bowl events.”
The first initiative will be a “Be Kind to Your Rival” social campaign, encouraging fans to say nice things about opposing teams and fanbases. For every qualifying post using #KindnessWinsBig, Mann will donate $1 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (up to $100,000), a charitable partner of the NFL since 2012.
“I’m honored to be appointed by the NFL as its Chief Kindness Officer,” says Mann. “I tell hopeful stories, and the Super Bowl has always been about more than football. It’s one of the rare moments when millions of people are all watching, reacting, and feeling something together. I’ve seen firsthand how powerful that shared connection can be. This week is about channeling the passion the NFL is built on into moments of kindness, empathy, and sportsmanship, both on and off the field.”
But Mann is just one of dozens of creators that will be at the Big Game, with a slew of other activations planned. Other names expected to attend will be Dancing With the Stars winner Robert Irwin, who will post content to tee up the league’s first game in Australia next year, and Max Klymenko, whose Career Ladder series has become a pop culture phenomenon. Nicky Campbell will create content on the NFL Honors red carpet, while Chef Cuso will appear in a new social food series that the league is planning.
And then there’s the YouTube Flag Football Game, which pairs creators and celebrities with former NFL stars and streams live on the NFL’s YouTube channel. J. Balvin and Druski will be team captains, with quarterbacks Cam Newton and Michael Vick, Benson Boone, flag football stars Diana Flores and Ashlea Klam, Deestroying, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, Jay Cinco, Jesser, Kane Brown, Marlon Garcia, Young Miko, Eladio Carrión, Pierson Wodzynski, Ross Smith and others all confirmed to participate.
As creators become a more dominant force in popular culture, sports leagues, entertainment companies and other legacy institutions have sought to appeal to the younger, more engaged audience they reach to ensure that they remain as relevant and significant to the next generation as they are to the Gen Xers and millennials that grew up with TV.
THR was at Levi’s Stadium (where this year’s Super Bowl LX will be held) last fall, as Mann, Jesser, Wodzynski and other creators met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan on the field, where they filmed sketches and dances, and in a luxury suite, where they mingled with top advertisers.
“They’ve been terrific partners. They brought us a new audience,” Goodell told THR of YouTube and its roster of creators. “They bring incredible production value. These creators are really an element that has been very well received by our fans — and new fans — people who want to get involved in the game.”
“It’s very clear that the young fan in particular wants to consume the live game, is interested in the athletes, but oftentimes they want to consume the highlights, the postgame and pregame commentary during the week through their favorite YouTubers and creators,” said Mohan.
