Minnesota Vikings ’Winter Warrior’
The 7th Annual Awards
- Best Short-Form Video
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
Built for social and fueled by style, sound, and snow, the Minnesota Vikings Winter Warrior video introduced the team’s new alternate uniforms with a custom set and a bold creative direction made to break through the scroll.
How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?
The Winter Warrior launch video represents Excellence in Engagement by reimagining what a uniform reveal can be—transforming it from a product drop into a cultural event. Rather than relying on traditional sports tropes, the Vikings delivered a platform-native video that felt more like a fashion or music drop, engineered to stop the scroll and spark conversation. The custom-built ice set, bold styling, and cinematic pacing set a new creative bar for how teams can connect with modern fans—especially Gen Z—through visual storytelling.
This work set new engagement benchmarks for the Vikings brand: nearly 3x more interactions than any post in team history, a top-three day for Instagram follower growth, and the second-highest TikTok growth month ever. But more importantly, it proved that fans don’t just want to see what’s new—they want to feel something. By leaning into style, storytelling, and cultural relevance, this video showed how short-form content can deliver real emotion, reach, and revenue—and it offers a blueprint for how sports brands can move at the speed of culture.
Objective
The goal of the Winter Warrior launch video was to introduce the Vikings’ new alternate uniform in a way that felt unexpected, culturally relevant, and native to social platforms. To achieve that, the team concepted and built a custom “ice cave” set—layered with fog, dramatic lighting, and reflective textures—to visually connect the uniform to Minnesota’s winter identity. The short-form video was designed to feel more like a fashion-forward visual drop than a traditional jersey reveal, capturing the attention of Gen Z and sparking national conversation.
Strategy & Execution
The Winter Warrior launch video was built for the scroll—fast-paced, visually striking, and optimized for mobile viewing. Every element, from the set design to the styling and sound design, was crafted to grab attention within seconds and hold it. Knowing today’s sports fans, especially Gen Z, consume content like fashion drops and music videos, the team leaned into that aesthetic to create a piece that felt less like a uniform reveal and more like a cultural moment. The goal wasn’t just to show the jersey—it was to make fans feel something.
Organizations
- Minnesota Vikings
- Nike
- NFL
- Riddell
- Rush River Scenic
Links
Credits
Alex Miller
Video Producer
Minnesota Vikings
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 7th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 24, 2025 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
