Ego and individuality have overtaken team sports. Culture loves to celebrate the star that single-handedly willed victory back from the clutches of defeat. But Russell Athletic, a company established on the ideals of team sport, thinks that those ideals are at their most potent when athletes are performing purely for the love of the game. Nowhere else is this as true as high school football. In 2015, 101 high school football teams lost the state championship by a touchdown or less. How do we turn that defining moment into a team’s motivation?
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Instead of championing the winners, we chose to defend the losers by turning their biggest loss into the ultimate motivation. Settle Your Score documents the story of five teams’ quest to come back from one of the most devastating moments of their young lives.
CASE STUDY
The campaign launched in partnership with VOX Media and SB Nation by creating one :60 OLV and five pre-season documentaries that followed each teams’ road to redemption.
Coach Ralph :60
Marion Local Flyers | 24W - 1L
Tri-County Rebels | 99 Yards
Lummi Nation Blackhawks | 1 Play
Glynn Academy Terrors | 1 Yard
Friday Night Lights photographer, Robert Clark
We then teamed up with famed Friday Night Lights photographer, Robert Clark who documented the comeback of the New Palestine Dragons in his directorial debut.
New Palestine Dragons | 8 Seconds
To create season-long social content, Robert Clark provided mentorship to student photographers from each school. He offered critique and tips to the students through a shared Slack channel that was managed by the agency. After the season, one outstanding student photographer was chosen to attend the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, FL to shoot the action alongside Mr. Clark.
