Inside the Campaign: Deutsch’s “Dr. Aftkings” and “Play” for DraftKings

In the series Inside the Campaign, the 4A’s features creative work from its member agencies. Here, Deutsch takes you inside two new campaigns for DraftKings.

Campaigns: “Dr. Aftkings” and “Play”

Agency: Deutsch New York

Client: DraftKings

Program Background:
Gearing up for the NFL season, the New York office of Deutsch this week launched two creative executions — “Play” and “Dr. Aftkings” — for the fantasy sports firm DraftKings. This is the first marketing initiative under Don Lane, SVP of Brand and Creative, who joined DraftKings after 21 years at Arnold Worldwide. Both campaigns broke Aug. 14, during ESPN’s Fantasy Football Marathon.

“Our new NFL creative is designed to drive acquisition by bringing to life our brand positioning: The Game Inside The Game,” said Lane. “The campaign highlights how DraftKings makes sports better by bringing fans closer to the games they love.”

“DraftKings is a dream account. The marketing team is brave, collaborative and ambitious,” said Dan Kelleher, CCO of Deutsch’s NY office. “The result is work that we’re extremely proud of and we’re confident will drive business this NFL season.”

The two complementary creative executions that comprise the campaign are “Play,” designed to position DraftKings as the leader in fantasy sports through an inspirational tone and invitational call to action, and “Dr. Aftkings,” which uses a lighthearted, comedic approach to educate fans about the various benefits of DraftKings 1-week fantasy football.

In the case of “Play,” DraftKings research uncovered that there are two kinds of sports fans: those who sit back and watch, and others who lean in and participate by playing fantasy football — the game inside the game you love. The theme is, “You don’t just want to watch; you want to play.” It features original footage of dramatic football action shot by cameras placed on the field, inside the action. The story is told through dynamic, on-screen typography and invites sports fans to “play” DraftKings 1-week fantasy football. It includes four primary TV spots and several additional online videos as well as digital, social and outdoor executions. DraftKings will update on-screen text elements throughout the season to capitalize on fantasy football news in real time. The campaign was directed by William Campbell and Will Johnson of Gentleman Scholar and lensed by Academy Award-winning director of photography Claudio Miranda.

The second execution, “Dr. Aftkings,” uses humor to educate season-long fantasy football players about the benefits of also playing 1-week fantasy football. It features an eccentric character named “Dr. Aftkings,” who diagnoses fans who don’t have enough fantasy sports in their lives. His patients include those who suffer from “Draft-itis,” the “Lose-onic Plague” and “Earnings Dysfunction.” The remedy to these afflictions is to “play” DraftKings, so they can experience more drafting, more games against friends and more winning—getting them closer to the games they love every week. Directed by Wayne McClammy.

Credits for “Dr. Aftkings”

Deutsch New York:

Chief Creative Officer, North America – Pete Favat

Chief Creative Officer, New York – Dan Kelleher

Executive Creative Director – Pete Johnson

Art Director – Krish Karunanidhi

Copywriter – Justin Lee, Jim LeMaitre, Jonathan Mackler

Director of Integrated Production – Joe Calabrese

Executive Producer – Shane Smith

Director of Integrated Business Affairs – Maria Taris

Group Director, Integrated Business Affairs – Stacy Schwartz

Head of Digital Strategy & Invention – Rachel Mercer

Sr. Strategist – Sidney Henne

Sr. Strategist, Digital – Rachel Gruber

Project Manager – Sean Gilleylen

Account Director – Andrew Arnot

Account Supervisor – Emily Doll

Account Executive – Mina Mukherjee

Client, Client Contact:

SVP, Brand & Creative – Don Lane

VP, Brand & Sports Marketing – Michael Shonkoff

Creative Director – Scott Salsbury

Director of Design – Thibault Kim

Senior Marketing Acquisition Associate – Ethan Shibutani

Strategic Partnerships – Gregory Sbardella

Marketing Specialist – Rob Hanson

Senior Manager – Josh Levin-Scherz

Production Company: Hungry Man

Director – Wayne McClammy

Executive Producer – Mino Jarjoura

Line Producer – Dave Bernstein

Director of Photography – Bryan Newman

Editorial: Cutting Room

Editor – Chuck Willis

Managing Partner – Susan Willis

Executive Producer – Anna Petitti

Telecine: Company 3

Senior Colorist – Tim Masick

Visual Effects: Light of Day

Creative Director/Partner – Colin Stackpole

Flame Artist – Pete DeAndrea

Music/Licensed Music Tracks: Extreme Music

Track – XCD070_01 SUPERBAD

Audio Post: Duotone

Executive Producer – Greg Tiefenbrun

Audio Engineer – Andy Green

End Tag Animation/Graphics Company: Light of Day

Creative Director/Partner – Colin Stackpole

Flame Artist – Pete DeAndrea

 

Credits for “Play”

Deutsch New York:

Chief Creative Officer, North America – Pete Favat

Chief Creative Officer, NY – Dan Kelleher

Director of Integrated Production – Joe Calabrese

Director of Print and Art Production – Sarah Manna

Executive Print Producer – Jeanette Luis

Print Producer – Melissa Betancur

Associate Producer – Marieme Sall

Executive Creative Director – Pete Johnson

Creative Director, Art – Marques Gartrell

Creative Director, Copy – Heather English

Art Director – Krishnan Karunanidhi

Director of Integrated Business Affairs – Maria Taris

Group Director, Integrated Business Affairs – Stacy Schwartz

Head of Digital Strategy & Invention – Rachel Mercer

Sr. Strategist – Sidney Henne

Sr. Strategist, Digital – Rachel Gruber

Director of Project Management – Clara Kim

Account Director – Andrew Arnot

Account Supervisor – Emily Doll

Account Executive – Mina Mukherjee

Client, Client Contact

SVP, Brand & Creative – Don Lane

VP, Brand & Sports Marketing – Michael Shonkoff

Creative Director – Scott Salsbury

Director of Design – Thibault Kim

Senior Marketing Acquisition Associate – Ethan Shibutani

Strategic Partnerships – Gregory Sbardella

Marketing Specialist – Rob Hanson

Senior Manager – Josh Levin-Scherz

Production Company: Gentleman Scholar

Directors – William Campbell & Will Johnson

Creative Directors – William Campbell, Will Johnson, Chace Hartman

Executive Producer – Christina Roldan

Head of Prodution: Rachel Kaminek

Line Producer – Robert Morales

Director of Photography – Claudio Miranda

Production Designer: Peter Kirkegaard

Coaching Consultant: Harvey Stables

Art Director – Trish Janovic

CG Supervisor – Adam Burke

Producer – Gregory Behrens

Designers – Chris Finn, Macauley Johnson, Cam Floyd, Hana No, Hana Eunjin Sean, Andy Lyon, Leah Evans, Vin Kim, Christina Liang, Juna Kwon, Juan Carlos Cuadra

2D Animators – Jaewoo Park, Juan Monasterio

Compositors – Joseph Brigati, Ari Reisner, Victor Torres, Kristjan Zaklynsky

Flame Artists – Kieran Walsh, Jamie Scott

Storyboards – Iain Slack

Riad Represents

Photographer – Thierry des Fontaines

Line Producer – Adele Thomas

Digital Tech – Alexander Quel

First Assistant – Wayne Hoecherl

Second Assistant – Mackenzie Walker

Editorial: Whitehouse Post

Executive Producer – Caitlin Grady

Editor – James Dierx

Assistant Editor – Sam Omenn

Steelhead

Executive Producer – Jeff Morgan

Senior Motion Designer/Editor – Juan Guzman

Editor – Matt Mullen

Motion Designer – Yui Uchida

Post Producer – Samantha Addy

Telecine: Carbon VFX

Senior Producer – Paul O’Beirne

Colorist – Milan Boncich

Music/Licensed Music Tracks

Original Music and Sound Design by Human World Wide

“Week to Week” Composer(s) – Matthew O’Malley & Thomas Keery

“Leagues” Composer(s) – Jon Collins & Thomas Keery

“Perfect Lineup” Composer(s) – Michael MacAllister & Thomas Keery

“Winning” Composer(s): Andrew Bloch & Thomas Keery

Audio Post: Post Human

Executive Producer – James Wells

Senior/Post Producer – Craig Caniglia

Creative Lead/Sound Design – Mike Jurasits

Post Engineer – Albert Leusink

Assistant Post Engineer – Robert Suchecki