On 6 September, a day head of the start of the 2022/3 NFL season, Snickers rolled out a new iteration of its ongoing US ‘Rookie Mistake Of The Year’ activation programme with creative fronted by player ambassadors Stefon Diggs and Najee Harris.
Through the regular season, the Mars owned ‘Official Chocolate Bar Sponsor of the NFL’ will again reward football fans for sharing their own silly, comic and relatable Rookie Mistakes and the online campaign, which runs across social channels, encourages people to submit video, photos, or written examples of their own personal Rookie Mistakes on snickers.com/rookiemistake.
The brand will shone a spotlight on some of the best Rookie Mistake submissions: featuring the fan-created content across Snickers web and social platforms and rewarding them with signed merchandise and NFLshop.com gift cards.
At the end of the regular season, a panel of NFL experts will select one Rookie Mistake that will be crowned the ‘Snickers Rookie Mistake of the Year.’ The winning fan will scoop a pair of tickets to Super Bowl LVII in Arizona where they will have a chance to celebrate on the field after the game.
Snickers is highlighting the activation and its NFL tie-up through a set of spots starring Buffalo Bills wide receiver Diggs and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Harris spearheaded by a launch spot featuring All-Pro receiver Diggs which depicts the all too familiar mistake of leaving a game early only to miss an incredible comeback.
The video, which dropped on 6 September, sees Diggs talk with a couple in a car as they listen to an exciting football game on the radio. The couple, who were at the game, chose to leave early to avoid traffic, but missed the big game moment. In a riff on Snickers’ ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’ tagline, Diggs implies eating the candy bar could have prevented the mistake.
Through the regular season, some of the NFL’s most recognizable players – including Diggs and Harris – will re-create videos of fan submitted mistakes.
The spots and accompanying set of social supporting creative and team-specific content encourages viewers to submit a Rookie Mistake and learn more about the initiative, fans are encouraged to snickers.com/rookiemistake from 6 September or share their Rookie Mistake on social using the hashtag #SNICKERSROOKIEMISTAKE.
Rookie Mistake of the Year is back and we're giving you the chance to win prizes. Check out this classic Rookie Mistake.
Share your Rookie Mistake for a chance to win tickets to Super Bowl LVII in Arizona and more: https://t.co/PXx1pMkm0L #SNICKERSRookieMistake pic.twitter.com/RZDWAVQiZT
— SNICKERS (@SNICKERS) September 6, 2022
Rookie Mistake? Maybe you just need a SNICKERS. Submit your Rookie Mistake for a chance to win tickets to Super Bowl LVII #SNICKERSROOKIEMISTAKE
Rules: https://t.co/7J4EytRZCm pic.twitter.com/ywED7pHJHQ
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) September 7, 2022
Plus, to further promote the activation, Snickers has released new Rookie Mistake packaging: with each bar featuring a QR code that links to snickers.com/rookiemistake.
While later in the season, an additional augmented reality experience will enable fans to experience a Rookie Mistake ‘magic football’ featuring Stefon Diggs: the ‘magic football’ acting as a traditional magic 8-ball and which will give fans an opportunity to ask Diggs a question or submit a Rookie Mistake of their own.
Creative and strategic support came from agency BBDO NY, Weber Shandwick, Mediacom, The Hive, MKTG and The Mars Agency.
“Mars is thrilled to inspire more moments of happiness and one-of-a-kind sports experiences for fans by bringing back the Snickers Rookie Mistake of the Year program this NFL season,” commented Michelle Deignan, Senior Marketing Director at Mars Wrigley. “Left the stadium early to beat traffic and missed the most epic play of the game? Called in sick to your 5th annual family reunion, but uploaded a “beach day” post with your friends on Instagram? SNICKERS offers a satisfying solution to Rookie Mistakes made both on and off the field in a way only a leading NFL partner like SNICKERS can deliver on.”
“I’m excited to partner with my friends at SNICKERS again to kick off the next season of the Snickers Rookie Mistake Of The Year program. Last year’s entries were hilarious, but I know the fans have more they’ve been holding back,” said Stefon Diggs. “I had the chance to film a Rookie Mistake inspired by a fan from last season, where two fans left a game early to beat traffic, only to miss an epic comeback in the fourth quarter. Ultimate Rookie Mistake. Think yours is better? Head to snickers.com/rookiemistake to share it.”
Comment
The activation, which debuted in 2021, focuses primarily on fan engagement whilst simultaneously spotlighting some pf the league’s leading players. The focus on fans and fan-generated content reflects shifting priorities amongst several NFL advertisers and sponsors.
Indeed, the ‘Rookie Mistake Of The Year’ program superseded the chocolate bar’s previous NFL initiative which was titled the ‘Hungriest Player’ program which focused more heavily on players by rewarding exceptional on-field performances with a chain bearing the Snickers logo.
The #SNICKERSchain is back! We’ll be passing this new piece to NFL’s Hungriest Players each week this NFL Season. Who’s Hungry? Follow along this season to find out! #BenBallerDidTheChain ❄️ pic.twitter.com/vC8gpMxlRj
— SNICKERS (@SNICKERS) September 3, 2020
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