February 25, (THEWILL) – For anyone who may have either physically watched the NFL Championship, otherwise known as the US Superbowl on Sunday February 11 or tuned in to watch the game, they couldn’t have missed the inspiring two-minute commercial titled ‘Born To Play’ which played during the game’s half time.
The commercial, which is a new campaign for Super Bowl LVIII, is a powerful ode to the diverse and inclusive spirit of the international game of football. The commercial celebrates the growth of football around the globe and promotes increased opportunity to the sport for anyone who dreams of playing. Shot in Ghana, it opened in a traditional Ghanaian home with a young football fanatic itching to get outdoors to play the game, imagining himself in an intense football game through the city on his way to school – alongside NFL’s prominent players. The journey led the young fan to an NFL camp, where he witnessed others training to one day play at the highest levels of the game.
Inspired by a speech given to NFL hopefuls at a football camp hosted by British-Nigerian former NFL player-pioneer and two-time Superbowl champion, Osi Umenyiora, a younger sibling to Lagos socialite, Okwudili Umenyiora, the story mirrors the NFL and Osi’s collective mission to encourage and offer youth around the world the life-changing experience and opportunity to play at the highest levels of the game.
The commercial was directed by Andrew Dosunmu, a Nigerian photographer and film maker who came to prominence in the United States after traversing England and France. Dosunmu to his credit has directed music videos for various acclaimed artists including Isaac Hayes, Angie Stone, Common, Tracy Chapman, Wyclef Jean, Kelis, Aaron Neville, Talib Kweli, and Maxwell. He started out as a design assistant for Yves Saint Laurent before pivoting to do work for magazines like ‘i-D’, ‘Paper’, ‘Vibe’, and ‘The Face.’
It was while working at Yves Saint Laurent, that Andrew steeped himself in fashion history while also self-educating himself at the extensive art and photography libraries of the Centre Pompidou. He has made a name for himself as a film maker and directed the 2011 drama film, ‘Restless City,’ which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. His next film, ‘Mother of George’, also premiered at Sundance in 2013, and was the closing night selection for Maryland Film Festival in 2013.
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