Anyone who has watched a football game is familiar with the celebratory postgame tradition of a sports drink splashed over the head of a coach or player.
New Orleans Saints star Cam Jordan took the celebration to a whole new level – dairy style.
Cam Jordan is all about dairy in this Fuel Up to Play 60 video, where he and his family prepare a delicious, dairy-filled breakfast.
Jordan and his son appear in another video to promote Fuel Up to Play 60’s partnership with GoNoodle, a popular and trusted youth “edutainment” platform. Following his victory in the game, Jordan is appropriately doused with a cooler of cold milk by his son and wife.
While we’re not expecting the milk dunk to become a sideline tradition at NFL games, it does illustrate how the dairy checkoff’s partnership with the league is pushing the envelope and finding new and relevant ways to reach consumers, particularly those in the Gen Z range (ages 10 to 23).
I have represented dairy farmers’ interests with our NFL partnership for more than a decade and I have seen its evolution. It is clear how much working with the dairy industry and farmers means to the NFL, starting with Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has dairy farmer cousins.
Common goals
Our state and regional network continues to bring Fuel Up to Play 60 to life locally and we have partnerships with all 32 teams and many players, such as Jordan. While COVID-19 has affected the number of in-school events we usually conduct with players and farmers, checkoff staffs have gotten creative with virtual visits, such as this one produced by American Dairy Association Indiana and Colts player Quenton Nelson visiting two dairy farms.
Another virtual strategy that is paying off is our partnership with GoNoodle, which promotes health and wellness through physical activity and healthy eating. The checkoff and GoNoodle launched the first two-player game called “Coach Terry’s Touchdown! powered by Fuel Up to Play 60.”
The free game has students racing down a virtual field to reach the end zone, collecting “power ups,” including milk, yogurt and smoothies, to keep their energy up. Since its launch, Coach Terry’s Touchdown! is among the platform’s most popular games. In fact, because of its success, GoNoodle extended the partnership past its planned end date through the 2021-22 school year!
The Jordan video and milk dunk will be a prominent part of GoNoodle’s content and promotions at no additional cost to us.
Farmer emphasis
Dairy farmers always have been an important part of Fuel Up to Play 60 and our NFL partnership. In December, we partnered with Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and running back Austin Ekeler, who visited Scott Brothers Dairy in California for a commercial shoot.
The commercial, which will run for a month on Nickelodeon’s new weekly NFL show “Slimetime,” highlights the commitment of dairy farmers and the league to help kids live active lifestyles fueled by a nutritious diet. The commercial, produced by NFL Films at no additional cost to the checkoff, also promotes the refreshed Fuel Up to Play 60 website.
Speaking of Slimetime, we have an arrangement with the network to air the Jordan commercial and the program also offered a special behind-the-scenes look at his family on Jan. 19.
One other highly visible and meaningful collaboration garnered through the partnership is the NFL’s annual “My Cause My Cleats” games where players select a cause near to them and represent an organization on custom-designed cleats worn during a game. Over the past three years, DMI has worked with several players who have selected Fuel Up to Play 60 as their cause, including four this past season. The Chargers’ Herbert even added a Holstein pattern to his cleats!
Herbert later joined DMI and California dairy farmer Tyler Ribeiro in presenting a $10,000 grant to a Los Angeles school to help improve the milk experience with new equipment. Herbert’s cleats and footage from the event were featured in a special NFL Network piece.
Finally, we will leverage the Super Bowl on Feb. 13 to build relevance for Fuel Up to Play 60. In conjunction with the NFL, we will select a Fuel Up to Play 60 student who will be honored as “Super Kid.” The student will participate in events during the week leading to the Super Bowl, including an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America and many other activities.
Our work to support healthy school communities and engagement with youth and their teachers and families will continue to evolve to find new and greater impact for dairy farmers. Our team maintains a constant line of open communication with our partners where we’re always discussing “what’s next?” to continue growing trust and sales in dairy.
The NFL work illustrates how the checkoff seeks partners that can deliver greater impact in priority areas than we could achieve alone.
We see how dairy farmers and our industry matter to the NFL, which understands it has much more than just a sponsor at the table.
To learn more about your national dairy checkoff, visit www.USDairy.com or send a request to join our Facebook group. To reach us directly, send an email to TalkToTheCheckoff@dairy.org.
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