When Pranksters Collide: How The Houston Texans’ Mascot TORO and Lindy and Jlo Broke the Internet

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

Pranksters Lindy and Jlo teamed up with the Houston Texans' mascot TORO for an epic prank video to hype up the 2025 NFL season. The prank went viral.

How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?

This work represents excellence in engagement because it was designed to earn attention, not demand it—meeting audiences where they already are and giving them a reason to actively participate, share, and respond.

By leaning into humor, surprise, and personality-driven storytelling, the content invited emotional reactions rather than passive consumption. Positioning TORO as a fearless prankster created a clear, repeatable character fans could recognize and rally around, while the Liberty White Out context gave the moment urgency and relevance within the season. The collaboration with well-known prankster influencers extended the reach beyond traditional NFL audiences, introducing TORO and the Texans brand to new communities primed for engagement.

Engagement was amplified through authenticity and restraint. The pranks and stunts felt native to social platforms and aligned with TORO’s in-stadium daredevil identity, making the content easy to understand, easy to share, and culturally fluent. Fans weren’t just watching—they were commenting, tagging friends, reposting, and reacting in real time.

Most importantly, the campaign drove high-quality engagement: laughter, conversation, and emotional connection. By prioritizing entertainment and personality over overt promotion, the Texans built brand affinity and loyalty, proving that engagement is strongest when content earns genuine fan participation rather than relying on reach alone.

Objective

The objective was to harness the momentum and excitement of the NFL season by creating a culturally relevant "lol moment" that drove awareness while deepening emotional connection. Central to this effort was positioning TORO not just as a traditional mascot, but as a bold, fearless prankster with a distinct personality that fans could recognize, anticipate, and fall in love with.

By partnering with a prominent prankster influencer couple, we sought to extend reach beyond core football audiences and tap into entertainment-driven social communities that thrive on humor, surprise, and shareability. This collaboration allowed TORO to step into a creator-first role, blending in-stadium stunt culture with influencer-led storytelling to elevate his daredevil reputation and amplify his presence both inside and outside NRG Stadium.

The campaign was designed to grow overall brand awareness for the Texans by showcasing a lighter, more playful side of the organization—one rooted in fun, confidence, and cultural relevance. Through this personality-driven content, the goal was to create moments that fans would actively seek out, share, and connect with. Ultimately, this initiative aimed to make people laugh, spark conversation, and strengthen affinity for both TORO and the Texans as an entertainment brand, not just a football team.

Strategy & Execution

TORO established a relationship with influencers Jlo and Lindy in 2024 when the Texans played the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas. We knew they lived in Dallas so we reached out to see if they would be willing to create some content together while we were in town for the game. They were so excited to hear from us and agreed, but also expressed interest in coming to Houston to capture some content at NRG Stadium. The videos that we created in Houston and in Dallas were loved by their fans and our fans and seen by millions of people. After we saw success in our initial collabs, we continued to brainstorm how we could take it to the next level. We pitched the idea of incorporating a TORO stunt, but weren’t sure if we could make it work where they could come to Houston while our stunt crew was in town for a game. Luckily we were able to align the schedule so everyone was here at the same time. We filmed the prank and released it strategically to align with our home opener.

Organizations

• Houston Texans

Links

•   Website

Featured

• Houston Texans

• TORO
• lindy_and_jlo

Credits

Andrew Johnson
Senior Mascot Program Manager
Houston Texans

Cole Reid
Senior Mascot Program Coordinator
Houston Texans

Lindy Lowry
Influencer
@lindy_and_jlo

Jarrett Lowry
Influencer
@lindy_and_jlo

Carl Mandell
Senior Creative Director and Executive Producer
Houston Texans

Christian Smith
Stunt Crew
Houston Texans

Nick Messing
Stunt Crew
Houston Texans

Ryan Records
Senior Social Media Manager
Houston Texans

Steven Goldfried
Director of Social Media
Houston Texans

Jay McDevitt
Senior Director of Digital Media and Content Distribution
Houston Texans

Doug Vosik
CMO
Houston Texans