During week 13 of the 2016 season, NFL players took the field with support for causes and charities proudly displayed on their cleats. To raise awareness for the campaign, entitled “My Cause, My Cleats,” the NFL aired two television spots as well as content on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat featuring the New York Jets’ Brandon Marshall. Throughout the spots, Marshall’s passion for Project 375, a foundation dedicated to de-stigmatizing mental illness, is shared as he collaborates with children from the foundation and a designer to create the perfect pair of cleats. The NFL engaged Nice Shoes to help tell Marshall’s story, with a post production team led by newly signed creative editor Dana Bol, colorist Gene Curley, and finishing artist Jason Farber.
Starting with an exploration of hours of footage from the project’s three-camera shoot, Bol worked to craft the moments that helped personalize the campaign, bringing together the narrative of the Jets receiver and his mission to help those in need, while tying it to the NFL’s larger message.
“There was a depth of material to draw upon. When you’re dealing with a documentary-style project like this, there’s a great opportunity for an editor to play a big role in creating the story,” said Bol. “It was a pleasure to find the most resonant and emotionally true storyline throughout this campaign. The whole process of designing the customized cleats is very cool, but we wanted to make sure in the companion spot that we showcased how Brandon deeply cares about this cause. He suffers from bipolar disorder and has made it his mission to help others.”
Colorist Gene Curley worked in support of the documentary-style, ultimately conceiving a natural look after experimenting with some different styles. Special attention was played to the green Project 375 logo on shirts and the custom cleats, which was pushed farther in the grade, to accentuate the color of Marshall’s cause.
“It was a pleasure to help tell such an important story with the NFL, and for this to be my first project as part of the Nice Shoes team. I’ve worked with Sam Howard on many projects for the league over the years, but it was really rewarding to work with him in support of such a great cause,” added Bol.
“Dana is the first person I thought of for this work,” said Sam Howard, NFL Director of Advertising, Content Marketing. “The initiative itself is all about creative collaboration – with Dana, if you give her a sketch, she’ll write the story.”
Bol joins Nice Shoes with years of experience editing commercial content for brands such as Gillette, HP, US Navy, Esquire, Heineken, Nautica and Ford as well as experiential multi-screen installation projects for L’Oreal, NBC Universal, and WWE. Her understanding of non-traditional video formats complements the studio’s expansion into delivering virtual reality and augmented reality content, and Bol’s background in collaborating with VFX and design teams supports the mission of Nice Shoes to provide top level creative talent at all levels of the production process.
