The Brief (The Problem)
Michael & Son, a powerhouse home services brand spanning Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, secured a massive regional media buy for the 2023 Super Bowl across their key Mid-Atlantic markets. Initially, their in-house marketing team requested a very specific, safe concept. We produced it, but the concept was ultimately scrapped. Suddenly, the clock was ticking down to the biggest broadcast event of the year, and they had no approved creative. They needed a bailout, and they needed it fast.
Michael & Son, a powerhouse home services brand spanning Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, secured a massive regional media buy for the 2023 Super Bowl across their key Mid-Atlantic markets. Initially, their in-house marketing team requested a very specific, safe concept. We produced it, but the concept was ultimately scrapped. Suddenly, the clock was ticking down to the biggest broadcast event of the year, and they had no approved creative. They needed a bailout, and they needed it fast.
The Strategy
With the original idea dead and zero creative input coming from their in-house team, BOLDRUSH took complete control of the wheel. We knew a standard plumbing ad would get buried during the Super Bowl. Sonja Ciotti wrote a brilliant, left-field script featuring a clueless coach pitching absurd ideas to a washed-up football team. The strategy was to abandon the corporate playbook entirely and lean into sharp, character-driven comedy that could hold the audience's attention during a high-stakes commercial break.
With the original idea dead and zero creative input coming from their in-house team, BOLDRUSH took complete control of the wheel. We knew a standard plumbing ad would get buried during the Super Bowl. Sonja Ciotti wrote a brilliant, left-field script featuring a clueless coach pitching absurd ideas to a washed-up football team. The strategy was to abandon the corporate playbook entirely and lean into sharp, character-driven comedy that could hold the audience's attention during a high-stakes commercial break.
The Execution (The Reality)
We didn't just find a local gym; we built the world from the ground up.
We didn't just find a local gym; we built the world from the ground up.
Production Design: We locked down space at Atlantic Pacific Studio, sourced the uniforms, and completely fabricated a gritty, believable locker room set.
Casting & Direction: I cast a group of actors who brought the script to life with incredible comedic timing. The chemistry between the "clueless coach" and the team was so electric on set that we legitimately discussed keeping the cast together to shoot a TV pilot right after we wrapped.
The Pivot: Going from a cancelled corporate concept to a fully fabricated, original comedic narrative under a Super Bowl deadline requires absolute trust in your team and your instincts.
The ROI (Broadcast Analytics & Media Valuation)
When you pivot this hard and take total creative control, the creative has to validate the media spend.
When you pivot this hard and take total creative control, the creative has to validate the media spend.
• Client Validation & Earned Media: Michael & Son was so proud of the final commercial that they actively pushed it out via an official press release—a rare and massive indicator of brand pride for a home services company.
• The Agency Surrender: The spot was such a massive upgrade from the original in-house concept that ESB Advertising admitted that everyone should have just let BOLDRUSH handle the creative with zero interference from the very beginning.
• Premium Broadcast Real Estate: The spot successfully aired during the 2023 Super Bowl broadcast, hitting millions of captive, live viewers simultaneously across highly competitive Mid-Atlantic media markets (spanning their VA and NC footprints).
• Rescuing the Investment: A multi-state regional Super Bowl buy commands a massive premium (easily mid-to-high six figures just for the media placement). Our ability to pivot and deliver an original concept ensured that Michael & Son’s most expensive media buy of the year wasn't wasted on a dead idea.
The Bottom Line: When the client's original plan failed, they handed us the keys. We wrote an original script, built the set from scratch, and delivered a Super Bowl commercial that was funny enough to be a sitcom pilot. We saved the media buy, won over the agency, and made the client proud enough to brag about it to the press.