MADDEN 23
Madden Day
Igniting a conversation to honor a legend.
THE INSIGHT
John Madden is iconic for the way he called the game, yet his legendary status is rooted in his remarkable perception of it.
THE WORK
Madden 23 was a massive reset for the franchise, and with the untimely passing of John Madden, we knew we had to lock in to ensure our total brand narrative reflected the impact and legacy Coach made on the game. The challenge, however, was that with younger generations less familiar with Coach Madden, we knew we would have to familiarize them a bit to stoke their fandom and excitement heading into the launch of pre-orders in June '22.
We recognized June 1st as Madden Day in honor of the game’s first release on June 1st, 1988. It was also the day we announced three unique covers to recognize Madden's greatness as a coach, broadcaster, and video game icon. To drive excitement for the cover reveal announcement, we leaned into our atomic network of athletes, creators, and NFL personnel to help commemorate Coach, and we focused the conversation on the impact Coach had on all of us by utilizing the #MADDENDAY which in turn helped younger audiences learn more about his legendary career as a football icon.
COVER REVEAL
GAME TRAILER
THE RESULTS
The social media takeover led to massive results the following day when pre-orders went live and was the perfect segue to introducing FieldSense,
the new gameplay system for M23.