As teams sought to finish the American Football season strong and make the playoffs, December saw NFL partner Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum erected large statues of six NFL superfans ahead of the climax of its ‘NFL Fan Of The Year Contest’.
The contest saw the Diageo-owned rum brand reward supporters ‘who really spice up the game with their love and passion for their teams’.
Each unveiling took place on the day of a game and typically involved players, plus a set of parallel activities such as Captain Morgan hosted special tailgate events and signature Captain Morgan cocktail tasting workshops (with appearances from NFL icons and stars such as Super Bowl XLVI champion Victor Cruz). These were typically backed by a regionally relevant set of social content (promoted by the brand, the league, teams and fans themselves) as well as a local PR push.
Custom gear. Tons of collectibles. Military vet. Community advocate. James Wright is perfectly SUITED to be our #DallasCowboys Fan of the Year!#CowboysNation: go pick James to win the league-wide competition for 2022! VOTE HERE: https://t.co/PfmvaVai75@NFL | @CaptainMorganUS pic.twitter.com/aRr8qpxx95
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 9, 2022
Pretty epic day when you get your own statue outside of @ATTStadium and a special handshake with @RowdyCowboys! #CowboysNation, vote TODAY for our Fan of the Year nominee, James Wright: https://t.co/PfmvaVai75@NFL | @CaptainMorganUS pic.twitter.com/50XV04GCZz
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 11, 2022
Congrats to Jeff Bloom! Our 2022 Fan of the Year @CaptainMorganUS #NFLFanOfTheYear pic.twitter.com/g4dQiwWeBv
— New York Giants (@Giants) November 22, 2022
Most content also sought to drive fans to the contest’s central website at https://www.nfl.com/honors/fan-of-the-year/ where, for the first time, 2022/23 saw the public offered an opportunity to vote for the superfan nominee they believe is the most deserving of the ultimate ‘NFL Fan of the Year’ title. Voting was encouraged through a microsite from early December through to 8 February.
The contest’s official presenting partner also teamed up with iconic publication Sports Illustrated to congratulate all 32 ‘NFL Fan of The Year’ nominees with a cover-peel ad and custom spread for February’s issue. The NFL’s own website also reserved a special section for each fan to explain the background to their fandom and the passion of their support.
Calling all football fanatics! Are you an extraordinary fan who rallies others to spice up the game?
The NFL #FanOfTheYear contest presented by @CaptainMorgan is now open!
Learn more and nominate someone at https://t.co/n5OS2KOeoB pic.twitter.com/mgVDt89m8s
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 15, 2022
All 32 shortlisted fans were invited to the (12 February) Super Bowl 2023 (at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona) with the overall winner honoured at the ‘NFL Honors’ evening on 9 February during a live broadcast.
Comment
We are often used to seeing sports statues in tribute to great players and legendary managers, but it is much rare for such artistic constructions to pay homage to the fans.
This is the second year in which Captain Morgan has been the presenting sponsor of ‘The NFL Fan of The Year Contest’ and follows on from other Captain Morgan NFL activations such as its 2022 ‘Super Bowl Punch Bowl’ which also served as a digital scoreboard to ensure fans didn’t miss anything during a mid-game snack break.
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