Seconds into the Los Angeles Chargers‘ 2024 schedule release video, one thing is abundantly clear: This will be no ordinary NFL schedule presentation.
It is set in the world of “The Sims,” a series of life simulation video games where players can create characters and control their lives through various objectives and tasks.
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In the world of the Chargers, there is a scene of John and Jim Harbaugh fighting, reminiscent of the movie “Step Brothers.” A portrait of Bill Belichick’s dog, who became a star during the 2020 NFL Draft, sits in a Foxborough retirement home.
Halfway through the video, Joe Burrow, dressed in his Super Bowl suit, arrived at a 7-11 gas station staffed by Ja’Marr Chase. In October 2023, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver posted a photo of the gas station on social media before wearing a 7-11 chain in that month’s game, a nod to his belief that it is always open.
There are cameos from NBA players, notably Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who is standing with a horse behind a water hole. Jokic has family-owned horses in Sombor, Serbia.
Lewis Hamilton, F1 driver and member of the Denver Broncos ownership group, makes an appearance while leaving a “Ball Mart.” A group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton bought the Broncos in 2022.
Taylor Swift appears in a window while Travis Kelce records an episode of the “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason, prompting Travis to join her on her private jet.
And that’s just a sampling of the many NFL cameos and inside jokes that appear in the video.
The attention to detail came to life through the collaboration of the Chargers’ social and video team working together, according to Jason Lavine, Chargers vice president of content and production. As of Friday night, the video has over 36 million views on X.
There were multiple factors in the video that Lavine believes resonated with the public.
The Sims games have sold 200 million copies since the first game was released in 2000. It was also announced in March that a Sims movie starring Margot Robbie is in the works.
“That helps us tremendously as well, just because that’s part of what we’re trying to do is be part of the spirit of the culture,” Lavine said. “And we were very lucky that that movie came out. So we felt part of the culture.”
After the success of their anime-themed calendar launch videos the past two years, there was talk externally about what the Chargers would do this year. Those videos went viral each time (last year they eclipsed 20 million views on X) and set up a potential trilogy.
But they went in a different direction and wanted to show they could do it without anime, Lavine said.
“I thought they figured out a way to take advantage of the success of anime, and in fact, they figured out a way to do it just as well,” he said. “And I really thought it was an impossible task. And I thought they had achieved the impossible.”
Allie Raymond and Hannah Johnson, members of the Chargers’ social media team, proposed the idea in late February. Lavine said it was a resounding yes and an idea that fit with the team’s mission in creating a calendar release.
A scene at the Chargers schedule release where Joe Burrow visits a July 11 gas station staffed by Ja’Marr Chase. In October 2023, Chase posted a photo from July 11 to X. Chargers/X
Raymond and Johnson played and created specific scenes and characters that are customizable mods.
David Bretto (Creative Video Director), Tyler Pino (Senior Production Director), and Megan Julian (Social Media & Content Performance Director) took the raw assets that were shot and put them together.
Lavine said a separate group of five to seven people who were part of a “joke team” worked to “build concepts that can then be narrowed down to whatever can flow and become the best piece.” A smaller group of Raymond, Johnson, Bretto, Pino and Julian decided which ones would appear in the video.
The challenge with The Sims is that customization is limited. If done correctly, it can align as closely as possible to what a character is intended for. So, there could be a Sims world where a character reminiscent of Russell Wilson gets angry when fellow Pittsburgh Steelers QB Justin Fields walks into the room.
“It takes a lot of filming and redoing things, because the control you can have over these characters is limited,” Lavine said. “They have a life of their own. That’s the point. So it takes an incredible amount of time to get it right and fill in the different angles and scenes that are needed to build these sequences.”
The original video was over five minutes long, but they were able to reduce it to its final length: 3 minutes and 20 seconds. According to the Chargers, a scheduled launch video should be quick enough that people will be compelled to go back and watch it.
A portion of the Chargers’ schedule release video refers to George Pickens’ viral reaction to being drafted by the Steelers. Chargers / X
Multiple views also increase the chances that fans will identify the many Easter eggs, such as a 28-3 nod on the happy hour sign outside a club where Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is DJing. or George Pickens watching the Steelers Draft him in 2022.
Easter eggs have been a strategy of the Chargers’ social team for five or six years, Lavine said. He added that the team believes the Internet will respect the level of sophistication of their jokes.
“From the standpoint of NFL fans … other fans can’t do anything but tip their cap and smile because of the level of detail this team went to for jokes,” Lavine said. “And inside jokes that resonate with fans who are die-hard fans, (and) people who are casual football fans.”
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