Did he wrangle a marlin onto his boat with his bare hands? Is he sculpted like a super hero? Did Sasquatch really say that he saw him once, trumping through the brush? These are all questions asked by a range of people in a series of new comedy TV spot for Ford's F-series trucks from Team Detroit directed by Synthetic Pictures' Justin Corsbie, and the person they're asking about is J. J. Watt, the popular, high-voltage defensive end for the NFL's Houston Texans.
The spots, which come in a range of broadcast and web-only versions, shows various groups of Watt fans engaged in spirited banter about his famous exploits, including two young boys, followed by a couple of construction workers, a man and his barber chatting during a haircut, a couple out on a date, two ranch hands and a group of young women doing yoga in a city park. To view a version of the work, click here: http://reels.syntheticpictures.com/v/2572.
In each instance we cut to scenes of Watt doing something akin to what he's been rumored to do, with his Ford pick up playing a key supporting role. For example, when they say they've heard he tames wild beasts, we see him tossing a bag of dog food in the payload with his trusty pooch by his side. It's the stuff legends are made of, Watt says to the camera at the end of the spot.
Corsbie brought his skills working with improv actors and his knowledge of the social-media fueled, sports fan mindset to the project, tapping into the reputation of Watt around the league as a larger-than-life player. Based on the neo-legends of J.J., you'd think he's a genetically engineered android built from the DNA of Vince Lombardi, Lawrence Taylor, Dick Butkus, Derek Thomas, and Ronnie Lott, the director says. This exaggerated public image provides the perfect springboard for comedy, establishing an almost inside joke with the viewer.
The script presented Corsbie and his production team with a range of shooting situations and challenges, including working with a large cast over varied locations, directing kids and a dog and of course making sure the vehicles looked great. Shot over two days in Houston before the start of the football season, the ads are just the latest evidence of the surging popularity of Watt, who's appearing in campaigns for a number of brands. The Texans are the focus of this season's Hard Knocks series on HBO, which follows a pro club all through training camp. Not surprisingly, the shoot locations were mobbed by fans who splashed their pictures and selfies across the internet.
The work is airing regionally, including on spot buys on Houston Texans broadcasts, and is also featured nationally online.
Creative and Production Credits
Client: Ford
Agency: Team Detroit
Executive Creative Director: Todd Chumley
Creative Director: Jerod Bunjer
Assoc. Creative Director: Steven Presmyk
Sr. Art Director: Julie Veinberg
Digital Art Director: Lauren Sanders
Jr. Copywriter: Devin Jones
Jr. Art Director: Evan Weiland
Executive Producer: Ryan Cook
Production Company: Synthetic Pictures
Director: Justin Corsbie
Executive Producer: Allison Smith
Director of Photography: Dean Mitchell
2nd Unit DP: JP Lipa
Line Producer: Melissa Murphy
Production Designer: Michael Grasley
Editorial and Conform Studio: Cosmo Street
Editor: Kevin Anderson
Asst. Editor: Zack Winick
Producer: Arielle Davis
Flame Artist: Shinya Sato
Color Grading: Apache Digital
Colorist: Steve Rodriguez
Producer: Caitlin Forrest
Executive Producer: LaRue Anderson
Audio Mix: Lime
Mixer: Sam Casas
Asst. Mixer: Stephen Fredericks
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan
About Synthetic Pictures
Founded in 2002, Synthetic Pictures (www.syntheticpictures.com) has offices in Los Angeles, Austin, and New York. The company boasts a diverse roster of live action directors and an accomplished visual effects division, SP/FX. They've worked with agencies such as BBDO, Leo Burnett, Team Detroit, GSD&M, Doner, Pitch, Publicis, JWT, Integer, 22squared, Wunderman, TM, Mithun, 360i, Phenomenon, Proof, Wilson, Luckie & Co, Agency RX, CDMi, Ramey, Tombras, LGA, Loomis, BVK, Rapp and R&R Partners on projects for clients such as Starbucks, Chrysler, Dodge, Dell, Intel, BMW, Ford, Vegas Tourism, Jennie-O, Shell, MasterCard, P&G, Special K, Dairy Queen, Burger King, Reebok, Walmart, DreamWorks, Nationwide, Canon, SunTrust Bank, Invisalign, Citgo, Honda, and the American Red Cross.
###
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
15/10/2025
One of humanity's most profound questions continues: Is there any place in our galaxy suitable for life beyond Earth? NASA intends to find out, with the hel...
15/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
15/10/2025
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced the advancement of its comprehensive AI ecosystem certification pro...
15/10/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today unveiled key highlights of the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 15 19 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Go...
15/10/2025
At NAB Show New York 2025 (Stand 244), Interra Systems will showcase the future of media QC, monitoring, and captioning, highlighting its award-winning, AI- and...
15/10/2025
Grass Valley today announced that RMC BFM, part of the CMA-CGM Group and France's third-largest private media group, has chosen Grass Valley's productio...
15/10/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future of hybrid, s...
15/10/2025
Rakim to Join Berklee's Hip-Hop Hall of Fame at Signature Series Concert The rap icon becomes the latest inductee, following luminaries such as Roxanne Sh...
15/10/2025
Berklee Brings Live Music to the Head of the Charles Student artists will perform on multiple riverfront stages during the 60th anniversary of the world's...
15/10/2025
CobbTV, the government access television channel for Cobb County, Ga. recently acquired an automated playout system from Pebble, a global provider of automation...
15/10/2025
OSLO, Norway Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future...
15/10/2025
NEW YORK The NBA is making major changes to the NBA App and NBA TV as it takes control of them from TNT Sports, which has long managed the league's digital ...
15/10/2025
SAN MATEO, Calif. In what promises to be a major expansion of interactive features and personalized content on the DirecTV platform, the operator and Glance hav...
15/10/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has launched changes to its user interface (UI) that the streaming platform says will better showcase original programming on the platform...
15/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Software-defined data storage and data services provider OpenDrives has elevated Alex Dunfey to chief technology officer, responsible for driving th...
15/10/2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE October 15, 2025: Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powe...
15/10/2025
Sheldon Nichols and Will Trickett to find and prepare more classic cars for budget conscious would-be owners from Wiser Films
UKTV have recommissioned the clas...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Nick Cave
JPEG (275 KB)
Explore the creative univer...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
From breaking up with your partner to quitting your job - new polling shows some messages are just too scary to send
Over a fifth (...
15/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz unveils compact MXO 3 oscilloscopes with 4 and 8 channels: Advan...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Revenge Series The Resurrected' Captivates Audiences Across Asia
Entertainment
15 October 2025
GlobalTaiwan
Link copied to clipboard
...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Bringing the Best in VFX and Virtual Production Together as Eyeline
Jeffrey Shapiro
CEO, Eyeline
Business
15 October 2025
GlobalCanadaInd...
15/10/2025
Deployed by Astound Business Solutions, Harmonic's Primary Distribution Solution Ensures Outstanding Video Quality and Seamless Ad Insertion at the Edge
SA...
15/10/2025
Collaboration extends a trusted relationship as RMC BFM invests in scalable, fut...
15/10/2025
Series coming in 2026 stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'Mara released today
RT today released first look images of new comedy-drama ...
14/10/2025
SVG Europe Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYNetworking event that preceded IBC2025 shone a light on elite live sports innovation acro...
14/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Author Rich Podolsky on Writing Madden & Summerall: How They Revo...
14/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Michael Reiners, Coordinating Producer, FloRacingThe Illinois State grad steers a vast schedule of motorsports events at tracks across the countr...
14/10/2025
Content protection: Getting the right management for your DRM By Neal Romanek
Friday, October 10, 2025 - 10:11
Print This Story
Eluvio power the EPCR'...
14/10/2025
As League Takes Over Ops, NBA TV and NBA App Add 60 Games, Weekday Studio Show, ...
14/10/2025
Time and effort: World's largest student-led broadcast prepares to go On Air...
14/10/2025
(L-R) Guest, Kimberly Robinson Jones, Geeta Gandbhir, Pamela Dias, and Takema Ro...
14/10/2025
Lossless ist jetzt mit Spotify Premium verf gbar.
Verlustfreies Audio war eine...
14/10/2025
La qualit Lossless est disponible sur Spotify Premium.
Le format sans perte de...
14/10/2025
For the seventh edition of Spotify and FC Barcelona's artist jersey series, ...
14/10/2025
Spotify is committed to bringing the best listening experience to all our users, and that includes parents and families. That's why we're expanding mana...
14/10/2025
Since its debut, the Spotify Original podcast Caso 63 has been more than just a story; it's been a cultural sensation. The science fiction thriller captivat...
Did he wrangle a marlin onto his boat with his bare hands? Is he sculpted like a super hero? Did Sasquatch really say that he saw him once, trumping through the brush? These are all questions asked by a range of people in a series of new comedy TV spot for Ford's F-series trucks from Team Detroit directed by Synthetic Pictures' Justin Corsbie, and the person they're asking about is J. J. Watt, the popular, high-voltage defensive end for the NFL's Houston Texans.
