Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs marketing department and agency BarkleyOKRP, Kansas City, MO, had a crazy idea: create a romcom–style movie trailer about a scorned Chiefs fan who learns to find love, and fandom, again. Enter director Parker Seaman of production company Lord Danger, Los Angeles, whose early days go back to writing and directing for the website Funny Or Die.
He co-wrote and directed the romcom-inspired trailer “Falling For Football,” which quickly went viral. In a surprising turn, the Hallmark Channel and the Kansas City Chiefs partnered to turn Seaman and BarkleyOKRP’s trailer into a full-fledged holiday movie. “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” premiered last November, starring Hallmark movie regulars Tyler Hynes and Hunter King.
So how would the Chiefs, BarkleyOKRP, and Seaman top themselves this year? By creating “The Magic Number” – a new three-part series of online shorts starring Pete Holmes, Holly Robinson-Peete, Christopher Meloni, and David Koechner and narrated by Chiefs super-fan, Jason Sudeikis.
Watch ‘The Magic Number’ below or on YouTube here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
The story focuses on a magic quest to find three specific Chiefs fans named Pete, representing the team’s quest for three Super Bowls in a row – something no other team has ever accomplished.
Seaman says, “With millions of views, a full-fledged feature film inspired by our parody, and a CLIO, this time around, there was a heightened sense of expectation.”
We spoke with BarkleyOKRP Senior VP, Group Creative Director, Tim McCracken, and filmmaker Parker Seaman about the challenges they faced making “The Magic Number.”
Congratulations on the KC Chiefs playoffs campaign. Your first project was a huge success leading to an actual Hallmark movie. This new one seems like a bigger, more challenging production. Can you compare the two from a creative standpoint?
Parker Seaman: Thank you. Last year, we were pleasantly surprised by the success of our project. With millions of views, a full-fledged feature film inspired by our parody, and a CLIO. This time around, there was a heightened sense of expectation. We took on the challenge of elevating the quality of our films by incorporating a more cinematic approach, a refreshing departure from our previous Hallmark parody.
Tim McCracken: Excitement levels were very high when this brief arrived for the 2024 season. The Chiefs are such an amazing organization and client partner that even without the high bar we set last year, the pressure was on to deliver something that truly resonated with culture. The success of last year’s campaign just amplified that pressure exponentially.
You both worked on the screenplay for this, right? Can you talk about that process? Who else did you collaborate with?
PS: The first draft of the script was given to me by Tim and the amazing team at Barkley OKRP, who entrusted me and my co-writer, Becca Scheuer, to bring our ideas to the story.
Knowing Jason Sudeikis, Pete Holmes, Holly Robinson-Peete, and David Koechner were involved, all of whom are used to a certain caliber of writing, we knew we had to make sure it was rock solid. We wrote with their voice in mind, determined to make them laugh reading what was on the page. Holistically we did a lot of work getting the idea across that this whole thing is about the search for a third Pete.
TM: The Magic Number was a concept that came about from the humbleness of the Chiefs organization. Everywhere in football culture, people were talking about the Chiefs going for their third straight championship. But be it modesty or superstition, the last thing the Chiefs wanted to do was talk about this elephant in the room or appear they were calling their own shot. The idea of ‘The Magic Number’ was born out of this juxtaposition, comedically playing off the two sides.
You created a “writers’ room” for the project – something you typically associate with a scripted TV series or a variety show like SNL.
PS: Yes, we staffed our writer’s room with some of my former Funny Or Die colleagues and some of the agency creatives and wrote this script with the goal of it being something that can be enjoyed by casual football fans, but also filled with Easter eggs that Chiefs fans go crazy for, like the cabinet filled with cheeseburgers in Andy Reid’s office.
What were the key production challenges you faced on this?
TM: This production, more than most, faced lots of challenges. We were basically making a short film, starring a cast you’d more likely see in a summer blockbuster. But the best part about making this work was there weren’t any sides the other side needed to manage. The client, agency, and production partners all came together into a tight, collaborative team that had the same vision for the work.
PS: I’m still tired from the schedule on this one. We shot roughly 15 pages in 2 days, 8 locations, 1 mascot, and Chiefs security escorting me to the bathroom so I don’t leak any Super Bowl-winning plays. Or at least that’s why I assume they were there. We prevailed with a great team who were all on board to make something fun. I gotta shout out my producer Danny Taff and cinematographer, David Jones, who without I’d be nothing.
I have to ask you about the cast. You had so many talented actors working on this. How did you approach working with them? Were there opportunities to improvise/experiment, or did you need to keep things buttoned up? Any funny on-set stories we can share with the press?
PS: I spent the most time with Pete and Holly, both of who can do no wrong. Pete is such a natural improviser and Holly grew to love that style. There are likely around 30 minutes of alternate takes between the two that didn’t make the final cut. We utilized two cameras to capture this style, especially during the more extensive dialogue scenes. There were moments when we gave ourselves time for the camera to keep rolling, allowing us to discover the best jokes organically. Holly was the perfect co-star for that kind of performance, she brought that grounded feel that we needed to balance out the super fan perspective energy that Pete was bringing to the table. That being said, It was her idea to crawl into that bag in episode three, so maybe both Petes are insane.
TM: The best part about creating work for the Chiefs is there’s never a shortage of people willing to raise their hand and get involved. From local fans to A-list celebrities, I’m always amazed at the level of talent that’s willing to drop what they’re doing and show up for Chiefs Kingdom. The talent in “The Magic Number” was no different. We did have the added filter of needing to find fans with a very specific name, but could not have been happier with the actors that agreed to join us.
Did you shoot all three at the same time?
PS: Yes. The biggest compliment we got is that it looks like we shot for multiple days with a lot of time, a lot more money, and resources, but in fact, we shot it more like the way of an indie film. Also, adding another layer of stress to this project was there wasn’t a guarantee we were going to release all three episodes. Whether the episode got released was dependent on the Chiefs winning that week. We shot all of them and then we crossed our fingers that the next episode would come out. That definitely made me a sports fan.
TM: With how much care and creative energy we collectively put into this, I would have been gutted if it didn’t see the light of day.
Last question, there have been industry trends around longer-form content having a bit of a comeback. I wonder if that’s something BarkleyOKRP has also noted and is looking to do more of for clients?
TM: At BarkleyOKRP we believe in creative work that pulls consumers to brands, instead of pushing messaging in front of consumers. We call it creating ‘gravity’ for brands. That happens when you create a value exchange for consumers: offering something in exchange for their time. Entertainment is one great way of doing that. So while I wouldn’t say we’re focused on creating long-form content for brands, we’re always looking to provide that value for consumers’ time, and given the right story, that will often lend itself to long-form content.
