The NFL and Mitchell & Ness collaborated on a nostalgic origin story of the sportswear brand and celebrated the cultural impact for a 2024 Super Bowl Sunday commercial. The barbershop served as the staple background to showcase how music, fashion, and culture intersect within the NFL. The sports merch collective tapped the Black-owned creative agency Free Lunch founded by Tim Hinshaw, to bring the vision to life.
The commercial takes place in Los Angeles in the early 2000s. Through the visual journey, viewers are part of an instant time capsule through the lens of a 10-year-old boy with a narration from his 2024 self. Through the reflective theme, the commercial shares how, decades later, the intersectionality between hip-hop and sports is the foundation for the youth to create and tell their own stories.
Founded in Philadelphia in 1904 as a sporting goods company, Mitchell & Ness is a top provider of high-quality vintage lifestyle and sports apparel. Years later, the brand continues to expand its legacy in sportswear and be a safe space for those passionate about hip-hop, fashion, and sports culture.