Case Study 02 · 2024–2026

Every career
starts with a mark.

Director · Creative Director Rick Wayne
Client Sharpie / Newell Brands
Platform Rookie of the Year
Years 2024 · 2025 · 2026
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01 — The Premise

Before the stats. Before the highlights. The signature.

The first thing every professional athlete does is sign their name. Contract, ball, jersey, kid's hat in the parking lot. The Sharpie is in their hand.

That ritual was the door in. Three years. Five athletes. One platform.

02 — Year One · 2024

Sign your future.

The Sharpie Signature Combine.

They trained their whole lives for the league. We made sure they were ready for the signature.

Sharpie S-Gel · "Rookie of the Year" · Director's Cut
QB · Atlanta
Michael Penix Jr.
2024 NFL First Round
WR · Chicago
Rome Odunze
2024 NFL First Round
Concept
Athletes training for peak signature performance — a combine they didn't know existed.
Tone
Sports-adjacent. Conceptually tight. Played straight enough that you almost believed it.
Hero Product
Sharpie S-Gel. The pen that holds up to a million autographs.
The Win
Proved the platform. The signature was a place we could live.
Hero Product · Sharpie S-Gel
03 — Year Two · 2025

The first signature is only the beginning.

From a moment to a legacy.

Year 1 made the signature a stage. Year 2 stretched it into a full rookie season — and reached back to the truth that the Sharpie has always been there. First autograph collected as a kid. First autograph signed as a pro. Same pen.

Sharpie S-Gel · "Rookie of the Year: Legacy" · Director's Cut

From getting my first autograph to giving my first autograph.
It's always been Sharpie.

Campaign Line · Year 02
RB · Las Vegas
Ashton Jeanty
2025 NFL First Round
WR · Carolina
Tetairoa McMillan
2025 NFL First Round
Called It One of our rookies went on to win NFL Rookie of the Year. The campaign got there before the trophy did.
Move
Lifted the lens off the signing moment and onto the full rookie season — and the legacy behind it.
Territory
First autograph collected to first autograph given. The Sharpie has been in the kid's hand and the pro's hand the whole time.
Cohort
Two athletes, two cities, one rookie class. The franchise had a roster.
The Win
Proved repeatability — and one of ours actually became NFL Rookie of the Year.
2025 Results

A platform that compounded.

1.36B
Total impressions across the campaign.
+61.3% YoY · 1,360,823,528
1,412
Total earned placements across consumer, sports & trade press.
+53.0% YoY
+1,611%
Increase in Sharpie S-Gel media mentions since February 2024.
Year-over-two-year lift
404M
Impressions delivered by Super Bowl Media Row alone.
One activation, one weekend
211K+
Social media likes on Sharpie-owned creative.
+14%
Social audience growth since Feb 2024.
200+
Boys & Girls Club kids at the Super Bowl autograph event.
↑
S-Gel sales growth in a declining category.
Outperformed the segment
#1
Among non-league sponsor brands during Super Bowl week.
Most talked-about
Super Bowl Media Row introduced Sharpie to media and sports personalities the brand had never reached before, and translated that reach into tangible community engagement — a fan autograph event with 200+ Boys & Girls Club members that reinforced credibility with both local communities and sports fans.
2025 Outlets USA Today Yahoo Sports ESPN Fansided Barstool Sports DraftKings Media Network NFL Network AP Fox Sports
04 — Year Three · 2026

Author your legend.

Before the legend, the reps.

Year 3 didn't push into the future. It went back. To the father who coached him. To the hours nobody saw. To the mental and physical reps that made the #3 overall pick possible long before any camera showed up.

Sharpie S-Gel · "Rookie of the Year: Legend" · Director's Cut
RB · #3 Overall · 2026 NFL Draft
Jeremiyah Love
Notre Dame · Creator of Jeremonstar
The Origin
A father coaching a son. The legend was forged at home, in repetition, long before the spotlight knew his name.
The Reps
Mental and physical. The work that doesn't make highlight reels — until the highlight reels can't exist without it.
The Receipt
#3 overall pick, 2026 NFL Draft. The discipline showed up where everyone could see it.
The Truth
What you do every day defines who you become. A Sharpie is the receipt for the hours.
05 — The Process

Three years. Three sets of tools.

The boards on the wall tell their own version of the story. Year 1 was patched together — AI frames stitched with found imagery because the tech wasn't there yet. Year 2 went analog — hand-drawn frames, green motion arrows, traditional craft. By Year 3, the tools had finally caught up to the picture in my head — cinematic AI visualization, frame-accurate to the cut.

Year 1 production storyboard — six panels of photo-realistic reference frames with script notes, branded Sharpie S-Gel and LiveLab.
Year 01 · 2024 AI frames stitched with found imagery. The tech was early — we made it work.
Year 2 hand-drawn storyboard — grayscale frame of a player running through mannequin obstacles, green motion arrow.
Year 02 · 2025 Hand-drawn boards. Grayscale. Green arrows. Traditional craft, on purpose.
Year 3 AI-generated concept frame — a player sitting in a locker room with headphones, reading a book, moody blue cinematic lighting.
Year 03 · 2026 Full AI visualization. The tech finally matched the cinematic feeling I was after.
Boards · The Wall · 2024 → 2026
06 — The Arc

A platform compounds.

Same truth, three different scales. Each year built on the last and made room for the next.

Year 01 · 2024
Sign your future.
A rookie, a Sharpie, a moment. Proved the territory could carry a campaign.
Year 02 · 2025
From first autograph to first autograph.
A full rookie season and the legacy behind it. Proved the platform could carry a franchise — and one of ours actually won ROTY.
Year 03 · 2026
Before the legend, the reps.
An origin story. A father, a son, the hours nobody saw. Proved the platform could carry the truth underneath the trophy.

Year 1 was a spot. Year 2 was a season. Year 3 was an origin.