The National Football League believes that football can unify a divided nation.

That’s the message of its new campaign, This Is Football Country, kicking off the 2024-2025 season, which begins Sept 5. 

The 60-second spot features a diverse group of male and female athletes getting hyped up to play their respective games in team huddles. The music grows increasingly intense as the athletes chant “all day, all night,” over and over, before the spot ends with the tagline “This is football country.” 

“We understand we live in a divided country, but we truly believe football brings people together, and we have the opportunity to highlight the accessibility and inclusivity of this sport in a very dynamic way,” Tim Ellis, CMO of the NFL, told Campaign US over email.

The campaign features NFL stars like Jason Kelce, and his wife, Kylie; DeMarcus Lawrence; Stefon Diggs; Myles Garrett; and Haley Van Voorhis, who in 2023, as a safety for Shenandoah University, became the first female who wasn’t a kicker to play in an NCAA football game.

“We didn’t just bring in some of our biggest players and legends. We casted them alongside real-life football ambassadors of all different backgrounds, including young women, flag, tackle and 1ON1 football,” Ellis said.

Despite recent controversies from Colin Kaepernick to Harrison Butker, the NFL has broadened its fan base in the past year, thanks in part to pop star Taylor Swift’s relationship with Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce drawing more women into the league.

According to Ellis, the campaign is part of the NFL’s “helmets off” strategy, which highlights player personalities off the field and the causes they care about. 

“It spotlights our players as the face of the NFL, showing a more human, compassionate side to the league,” Ellis said, adding, “our stance [is] that the NFL has the power to be a unifier.”

72andSunny created the ad, which was filmed in locations around the world, including in Florida, Hawaii, New York, Brazil, Japan and Mexico. This NFL season features games in London, Munich and São Paulo as the league looks to broaden its international reach.

In addition to the commercial, the NFL will also share vignettes throughout the year featuring stories from cities like Tokyo, Maui and Brooklyn.