What does a 175-year-old seafood brand have in common with sports culture? Until recently, not much. But that’s exactly the creative leap we’re taking with Gorton’s in the newest evolution of its 2025 campaign, bringing the brand to NFL game day with NBC Sports.
It’s an unexpected, but intentional move to meet broader Gen Z and Millennial audiences where they are: in spaces that feel less like advertising and more like community. It also capitalizes on the massive cultural shift in football viewership, which has seen a 7% increase in viewers since 2015.
Over the past three years, Gorton’s has been rewriting the playbook for how an established brand can show up authentically, in modern ways —through culture, not just category cues. They’ve leaned into the unexpected and kicked off 2025 by throwing a house party at SXSW that drew 3500+ attendees, lined up day and night to spend time with the brand. Not to mention, building off of previous success with an award-winning TikTok glow-up and ‘shockingly good’ merch drop . Now, the brand is doing the same by entering the sports arena.
The campaign, which includes TV, social, media, and partnerships, will run through the end of the year.
Watch the tongue-in-cheek hero spot below:
A look behind the scenes:
