Rob Gronkowski Seeks Expert Guidance on Live Super Bowl Kick

Can Rob Gronkowski, who excelled in 11 NFL seasons as a tight end, join his former New England Patriots teammate Adam Vinatieri as one of the greatest placekickers of all time?

Hell no! But maybe Automatic Adam can help Gronk make a 25-yard field goal on Super Bowl Sunday as part of FanFuel’s “Kick of Destiny” campaign developed with Wieden+Kennedy New York.

The sportsbook brand will air Rob’s effort live during the game’s third quarter on Feb. 12. FanDuel set up the premise last week. Today we get a second teaser, with Vinatieri training Gronk to put his best foot forward.

That retro Hollywood montage—driven by John Farnham’s 1986 testosterone-spiked anthem “Break the Ice”—was kickin’! The same can’t be said for Gronk. Still, there’s time for him to improve, with one more ad planned ahead of the Big Game.

Rob will make his attempt at an undisclosed location near State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., site of Super Bowl LVII. If he prevails, folks placing SB bets of $5 or more via FanDuel before kickoff could win part of a $10 million pot. 

Frankly, when this concept dropped, it felt somewhat deflated. Oh look, there’s Gronk again. And he’s hyping FanDuel. Meh.

But now, creating a storyline to build excitement for a real-time event seems like a smarter play every day. Rather than simply trumpeting its Super Bowl debut, the brand’s getting beaucoup buzz from heightened media coverage. Judging from the wealth of recent headlines and social chatter, this initiative really is breaking through.

Gronk’s overexposure as a pitchman actually works in the campaign’s favor. Scores folks love the dude. Or hate seeing his chiseled mug in commercials all the time. Either way, millions feel invested in the “Kick of Destiny” drama. They’ll tune in to cheer him on. Or else chortle if the ball hits the crossbar and bounces back to smack Gronk in the head.

“There’s no way to script the outcome, and that’s inherent to the experience of betting on FanDuel,” says W+K New York GCD Gerard Caputo. “We’re giving everyone a taste of that, and if they’ve been following along the result will be even more rewarding.”

CREDITS

CLIENT: FanDuel
PROJECT NAME: “Kick of Destiny”

AGENCY: W+K NEW YORK
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Scott Dungate
PRESIDENT: Jiah Choi
GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Gerard Caputo
SR COPYWRITER: Barry Katz
SR ART DIRECTOR: Alex Kaplan
ART DIRECTOR: Hannah Campbell
HEAD OF INTEGRATED PRODUCTION: Nick Setounski
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Sam Kilbreth
SR PRODUCERS: Bianca Cochran, Tania Pirozzi, Rodrigo Nino
SR ART PRODUCER: Diana Pam
PRINT PRODUCER: Wayne Treptow
GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Ryan Johnson
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Perry Kayla Fox    
ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR: Nico Rodriguez  
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Will Parker
SR PROJECT MANAGER: Alex Doomany
GROUP STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Stéphane Missier
STRATEGY DIRECTOR: David Ceng
COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING DIRECTOR: Zack Green
SR COMMS STRATEGIST: Javaad Beg
SR BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER: Paul FitzGerald
BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER: Ivian Nunez
TRAFFIC SUPERVISOR: Sonia Bisono
TRAFFIC MANAGER: Jacqueline Crane
HEAD OF STUDIO: Chris Whalley
STUDIO MANAGER: Jill Kearton
SR STUDIO ARTIST: Nate D’Alessandro
DESIGN LEAD: James Hughes
JR DESIGNER: Tyler Smith

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Arts & Sciences
DIRECTOR: Mike Warzin
MANAGING PARTNER: Marc Marrie
MANAGING DIRECTOR: Mal Ward
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Christa Skotland
HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Milena Milicevic
LINE PRODUCER: Joey Zadwarny
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Autumn Durald
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Eric Archer
FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Jason Lombardo

EDITORIAL COMPANY: ARCADE NY
EDITOR: Dave Anderson
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Sam Barden  
PRODUCER: Ellen Lavery
EP/PARTNER: Sila Soyer

VFX COMPANY: PARLIAMENT

COLORIST COMPANY: COMPANY 3
COLORIST: Tom Poole
COLOR PRODUCER: Shannen Troup

DESIGN & ANIMATION: LOS YORK

SOUND DESIGN, RECORD, AND MIX: BRIAN GOODHEART

ORIGINAL MUSIC: WALKER
MANAGING DIRECTOR: Sara Matarazzo
SENIOR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Stephanie Pigott
SENIOR PRODUCER: Danielle Soury

PHOTOGRAPHER: Emily Shur
PHOTOGRAPHER’S AGENT: Giant Artists

RETOUCHING: 150PROOF & Co.                                  
HEAD OF RETOUCHING: Chris McClelland
RETOUCHER: Kevin Walker