During the 2023-24 season, we needed a way to cut through the brand clutter thrown at NFL fans to position Cisco as a security leader. I came up with the idea of using old-school Xs and Os on a coach’s chalkboard as a fresh way in, which made our story instantly relatable for football fans. The hand-drawn, analog feel of the work stood out amidst all the perfect, digitally created ads surrounding it.

I shared creative-director duties on this project with Rick Vargas, who led the visual approach. The spots, some of which wrapped our animated story around game highlights in what the NFL calls an “enhancement,” scored big with Monday Night Football audiences and on NFL.com. In fact, this spot’s video-completion rate—87%—is the highest ever on NFL.com.