FCB New York Wins Sports Emmy for Michelob ULTRA’s “McEnroe vs McEnroe”
May 25 2023 - 3:30PM
FCB New York and Michelob ULTRA have been awarded the 2023 Sports
Emmy for Outstanding Digital Innovation by the International
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the groundbreaking
long-form film “McEnroe vs McEnroe,” a first-of-its-kind branded AI
activation that aired as a prime-time special on ESPN.
Through the combination of AI, Unreal Engine MetaHuman
technology, body tracking, and a pair of perfectly synchronized
robotic arms, “McEnroe vs McEnroe” became the first tennis match in
history in which a legend of the sport was able to take on younger
versions of himself in real time. The final result was so
impressive that ESPN decided to air it — free of charge to the
brand — as an hour-long special in prime time across 52 countries.
With over 10 million views, “McEnroe vs McEnroe” became one of the
most-watched sports events of the year, besting the 2021 NBA
Finals.
This win marks the first Sports Emmy for both Michelob ULTRA and
FCB New York, which, throughout their multi-year partnership, have
been pushing the boundaries of technology in novel ways to enhance
the enjoyment of sports. Like in 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions
made it impossible for fans to attend games in person, and they
launched “Courtside,” a platform that allowed fans to attend
virtually — which included seeing their faces in the stands and
chatting with people in their “section” — by scanning a Michelob
ULTRA bottle.
Michelob ULTRA’s distinct positioning around joy — doubling down
on cultural relevance, grabbing people’s attention and reminding
them that joy is not just an afterthought — has helped the brand
grow to the 2nd-biggest beer in the country. They’ve achieved this
success despite relentless category competition and headwinds for
the light-beer category, which has declined 3% to 4% per year since
2013.
To date, “McEnroe vs McEnroe” has earned more than 120 media
placements, with Sports Illustrated saying it “could be the future
of sports” and Yahoo! praising it for “reinventing sports
entertainment.” Since the launch of the program, organic searches
for “Michelob ULTRA” have grown by 95%.
“An idea as ambitious as ‘McEnroe vs McEnroe’ can only happen
when you have that perfect storm of relentless creatives, visionary
clients and dedicated partners — all with a Never Finished spirit
and a shared belief in the power of creativity as an economic
multiplier,” said Michael Aimette, Chief Creative Officer of FCB
New York.
“We simply can’t thank our clients at Michelob ULTRA enough for
locking arms with us to bring this idea to life, and for always
proving that ‘it’s only worth it if you enjoy it,’” added Emma
Armstrong, FCB New York’s CEO.
FCB New York is currently the #1 agency in the world according
to the recently released One Club Global Rankings, as well as the
#1 Creative Agency for Effectiveness as named in the WARC Effective
100 list. It was awarded Agency of the Year by the Clios, as well
as Campaign’s Experiential and B2B Agency of the Year, and was
named to the Contagious Pioneers list of best and bravest agencies
in the world.
“McEnroe vs McEnroe” has swept the 2022/2023 advertising awards
season, taking home Ad Age’s Tech Innovation of the Year, five
Cannes Lions, 15 Clios, 13 ADC awards and 24 awards at The One
Show.
About FCBFCB (Foote, Cone & Belding) is a
global, award-winning and integrated marketing communications
company with a heritage of creativity and success dating from
1873.
FCB New York has been recognized globally for using creativity
as an economic multiplier to drive meaningful business results for
its clients, among them AB InBev, the FDA, MorningStar Farms, New
York Mets and Spotify. In 2023 alone, the agency was named the #1
agency in the world on The One Club’s Global Rankings, awarded
Agency of the Year by the Clios, honored as WARC’s #1 Creative
Agency for Effectiveness, named to Contagious Pioneers’ list of
best and bravest agencies in the world, and chosen as Campaign’s
Experiential and B2B Agency of the Year. With more than 8,000
people in 109 operations in 80 countries, FCB is part of the
Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG). Visit fcb.com or follow
@FCBglobal and @fcbnewyork on Instagram.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bad08191-bfbb-4459-b953-11d132d29c8a
Kellie Gleason
kellie.gleason@fcb.com
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