Dive Brief:

• Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum is erecting large statues depicting six NFL superfans in honor of The NFL Fan of The Year Contest, which is presented by the alcohol brand, according to a press release. The statues will be revealed throughout December.
• The brand also partnered with Sports Illustrated to honor all 32 nominees of the NFL Fan of The Year Contest with a cover-peel ad and custom spread planned for February’s issue of the publication.
• The effort by Captain Morgan comes as the public for the first time has the opportunity to vote for the superfan nominee they believe is most deserving of the Ultimate NFL Fan of the Year title. Voting is accessible through a microsite until Feb 8., and the winner will be announced during a live broadcast of the NFL Honors the next day.

Dive Insight:

In what marks the second year Captain Morgan is the presenting sponsor of The NFL Fan of The Year contest, the brand is upping its antics as it looks to rally the sports community around honoring the most loyal fans. The news follows previous efforts from parent company, Diageo, which is in its second season as the official spirits sponsor of the NFL, to put fans first in its NFL-related marketing. 

While there are 32 nominees for this year’s superfan honors, only six identified as the most passionate will be immortalized as statues: Susan Haluzan (Arizona Cardinals), James Wright (Dallas Cowboys), Enrique Carranco Garcia (Los Angeles Chargers), Gus Obregon (Los Angeles Rams), Jeff Bloom (New York Giants) and Michael Wayne Torto (New York Jets). Captain Morgan in December will host special tailgate events before kickoff of select games to unveil its statues and offer fans cocktails and giveaways. Former NFL stars including Super Bowl XLVI champion Victor Cruz will also make appearances at the tailgates.

While the Ultimate NFL Fan of the Year will be named during the NFL Honors broadcast in early February, a celebration of the event will also take place at Super Bowl LVII, which is set to take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Feb. 12. Diageo and its brands have routinely made efforts surrounding football. For instance, Captain Morgan during the 2022 Super Bowl unveiled its Super Bowl Punch Bowl that also served as a digital scoreboard to ensure fans didn’t miss anything during a mid-game snack break. 

Captain Morgan, and Diageo as a whole, have made efforts to put fans first with its NFL partnership. For the 2022 Super Bowl, Captain Morgan unveiled a “smart punch bowl” that displayed the score among other features. Smirnoff in February held a Super Bowl LVI watch party for a group of gold miners located 100 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska to ensure they were able to view the game.