Nissan’s ongoing American Football ‘Heisman House” US campaign returned for the 2023 NFL and college season kick-off continued to spoof reality television formats as viewers are offered a comic peak into the lives of the car company’s growing cast of college football trophy winners athletes goofing around their fraternity-style home and hang out with their paired NCAA university mascots.
Developed by agency TBWA\Chiat\Day and now in its 13th year, the campaign this year, the 2023 edition stars 2022 Heisman Award winner and University of Southern California quarterback sophomore Caleb Williams who joins five decades of other winners of the trophy including Eddie George, Barry Sanders, Tim Tebow, Bryce Young, Baker Mayfield, Matt Leinart, Robert Griffin III, Billy Sims, George Rogers and Charles Woodson.
The campaign, which rolled out in late August to leverage spiking interest in the start of the NFL and college football season, includes eight commercials, a Zillow collaboration and an NFT initiative which will roll out through the season. Developed in partnership with ESPN, the activation also includes a social influencer strand.
This year’s work focuses on promoting Nissan’s Rogue and all-electric Ariya SUV vehicles.
The hero ‘Is It Real’ launch spot, a 45-second video which rolled out from 31 August tells how new member Williams used to watch ‘Heisman House’ ads every year and always wondered if they genuinely reflected real life. It then sees George teach the new kid how to trim the garden hedges in the shape of the Heisman Trophy, while the ad claims ‘That’s real? Kind of?’
Other spots already posted across the auto outfit’s US digital platforms include ‘Too Helpful’, ‘Bath Day’, ‘Covering the Spread’ and ‘Live Like A Heisman’.
All content invites viewers to learn more about the Heisman House at https://www.nissanusa.com/heisman-hou…
A new strand of the activation in 2023 is the ‘Heisman House Pass’: an all-access NFT that unlocks exclusive content and experiences, plus a chance to play games and win tickets. These free passes are available at TheHeismanHouse.com or IRL at activations visiting campuses during the autumn/fall.
There is also a roving ‘Heisman House Tour’ appearing at several college campuses through the season.
To support the spots, Nissan also launched a collaboration with the real estate site Zillow from 1 September which treats users to a house tour hosted by vlogger and apartment aficionado Caleb Simpson.
“Fans are always looking for deeper and closer connections to their favourite teams and players,” said Marisstella Marinkovic, VP and CMO, Nissan US. “This reflects how fans feel about Heisman athletes, too. There’s a deep personal pride when the winner comes from your team or your state. This mentality connects fans to the on-the-field happenings as if they’re part of the team. We wanted to bring that vibe to this year’s campaign in a super-fun way. Fans believe that the ‘Heisman House’ is real. Well, this year, we are actually making it real, giving them a chance to view the house on Zillow.”
“In addition to all the hijinks with the Heisman winners, we’re expanding the Heisman House excitement with digital collaborations to bring fans closer to the action,” added Marinkovic.
Comment
Alongside its regular traditional media push, 2023 sees Nissan genuinely rev up the digital side of its long-running ‘Heisman House’ platform through the inventive Zillow partnership, influencer marketing and NFTs.
We counted 11 Heisman Trophy winners featuring in this year’s marketing.
Previous iterations of the campaign include 20212’s ‘Prank’, as well as notable campaigns in 2019 and 2015.
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