Inside Amazon's Thursday Night Football Graphic Intros, Inspired by Title Sequences

Tom Brady sure got animated during Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football as his Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

We’re not talking about Tom’s on-field performance, which was pretty lackluster, but the future NFL Hall of Famer’s appearance in Prime’s latest TNF promo:

Created by Imaginary Forces—renowned for its title sequences, including the Emmy-winning openings to Mad Men and Stranger Things—the fun, funky clips hype each matchup with historical team highlights set to hot beats. For example, in last night’s spot, we heard an ecstatic call proclaiming, “The Buccaneers are kings of the world!” That hailed from the conclusion of their 2020 Super Bowl win. (Sorry, the Bucs won’t don the crown this year.) The agency drew inspiration from current trends in movie and TV title sequences, presenting different players, cityscapes, stadiums, jerseys and tunes each week.

Eschewing live-action footage, which “look like everything else in sports,” Imaginary Forces chose “a dramatic and whimsical approach, with simple shapes and geometric patterns, which is totally opposite from what the audience is used to seeing for the NFL,” creative director Grant Lau tells Muse. Rather than serve up “high-end, rendered 3D hyper-realistic stuff, we wanted to do the opposite. We wanted to evoke something familiar and historical,” he says.

Indeed, the style feels fresh yet familiar, a chill graphical twist on classic themes, evoking fans’ fondest memories. “Football rallies communities together to root for a common purpose, and our intros are a key part of telling that story,” Lau says.

The animations provide a neat contrast with last month’s freaky elongated “Prime Ball” play in the run-up to TNF’s launch. (For the record, ratings have been mixed so far, and heading in the wrong direction.)

See other installments of the campaign below:

CREDITS

• Washington Commanders vs. Chicago Bears
executive creative director: peter frankfurt
managing director/ep: tiffani manabat
creative director: grant lau
technical director: jake ferguson
editor: ian gibson, chris hall, marty pugeda
lead animation: jahmad rollins
cel animators: lyuben dimitrov, matt everton, taik lee
storyboard artist: tyler gibb, jaclyn bautista
legend lane designer: angela zhu
legend lane illustrator: lilly lin
designers: ned piyadarakorn, angela zhu, steve fuller, chris salvador, kevin sanchez
2D: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, nick baquero, lilly lin, ella lee, cindy shon
animators: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, lilly lin
head of production: ryan burcham
senior producer: sean sullivan
assistant producer: nic luong
coordinator: aaron carlos, cameron davison

• Indianapolis Colts vs. Denver Broncos
executive creative director: peter frankfurt
managing director/ep: tiffani manabat
creative director: grant lau
technical director: jake ferguson
editor: ian gibson, chris hall, marty pugeda
lead animation: jahmad rollins
cel animators: lyuben dimitrov, matt everton, taik lee
storyboard artist: tyler gibb, jaclyn bautista
lead illustrator: tomoki echigo
designers: ned piyadarakorn, angela zhu, lilly lin, steve fuller, chris salvador, kevin sanchez
2D: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, nick baquero, lilly lin, ella lee, cindy shon
animators: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, lilly lin
head of production: ryan burcham
senior producer: sean sullivan
assistant producer: nic luong
coordinator: aaron carlos, cameron davison

• Miami Dolphins vs. Cincinnati Bengals
executive creative director: peter frankfurt
managing director/ep: tiffani manabat 
creative director: grant lau
editors: ian gibson, chris hall, marty pugeda
lead animation: jahmad rollins
cel animators: dimitrov lyuben, matt everton, taik lee
storyboard artists: tyler gibb, jaclyn bautista 
designers: angela zhu, steve fuller, chris salvador, kathy liang
lead designer: ned piyadarakorn
2d: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, nick baquero,
alphonse swineheart, lilly lin, ella lee, cindy shon
3d: kevin sanchez
technical director: jake ferguson
animators: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, lilly lin
illustrator: tomoki echigo
previz: siddarth john
head of production: ryan burcham
senior producer: sean sullivan
assistant producer: nic luong
coordinator: aaron carlos, cameron davison

• Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns
executive creative director: peter frankfurt
managing director/ep: tiffani manabat 
creative director: grant lau
editors: ian gibson, chris hall, marty pugeda
lead animation: jahmad rollins
cel animators: dimitrov lyuben, matt everton, taik lee
storyboard artists: tyler gibb, jaclyn bautista 
designers: angela zhu, steve fuller, chris salvador, kathy liang
lead designer: ned piyadarakorn
2d: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, nick baquero,
alphonse swineheart, lilly lin, ella lee, cindy shon
3d: kevin sanchez
technical director: jake ferguson
animators: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, lilly lin
illustrator: tomoki echigo
previz: siddarth john
head of production: ryan burcham
senior producer: sean sullivan
assistant producer: nic luong
coordinator: aaron carlos, cameron davison

• Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
executive creative director: peter frankfurt
managing director/ep: tiffani manabat 
creative director: grant lau
editors: ian gibson, chris hall, marty pugeda
lead animation: jahmad rollins
cel animators: dimitrov lyuben, matt everton, taik lee
storyboard artists: tyler gibb, jaclyn bautista 
designers: angela zhu, steve fuller, chris salvador, kathy liang
lead designer: ned piyadarakorn
2d: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, nick baquero,
alphonse swineheart, lilly lin, ella lee, cindy shon
3d: kevin sanchez
technical director: jake ferguson
animators: nader husseini, christian arnsparger, lilly lin
illustrator: tomoki echigo
previz: siddarth john
head of production: ryan burcham
senior producer: sean sullivan
assistant producer: nic luong
coordinator: aaron carlos, cameron davison