NHL "Gen Z" (2024) :30 (USA)

The National Hockey League (NHL) today debuted the newest ad in its “The Next Golden Era is Now” campaign to commemorate the start of the 2024-25 season. Created by Highdive, the spot takes a tongue-in-cheek approach and features popular Gen Z NHL stars acknowledging and making light of the misconceptions about their generation.

“People can say what they want about Gen Z, but there’s no denying the skill, speed and creativity of today’s young stars in the NHL,” said Casey Hall, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Branding for the National Hockey League. “Contrary to stereotypes, they are drawing the admiration and respect of fans and fellow players of every generation. And they're doing it in their own way - with personality, style and fun. “

The new :30 commercial opens with a newscaster asking “Is Gen Z the laziest generation?”. One by one, NHL young stars Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights, each playfully mock their generational labels. Instead of denying or getting upset about the stereotypes, they let their “game” speak for itself. The ad ends with millennial Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby shaking his head and saying “kids these days.”

Highdive Co-founder/Co-CCO Chad Broude added, “We had a lot of fun getting these players into the spot and letting them joke about people’s assumptions of Gen Z. Together with the NHL, we developed a great concept highlighting the attributes of these young stars through the culturally relevant topic of Gen Z in the workplace.”

Client: NHL
Brian Jennings: Senior Executive Vice President, Marketing & Chief Branding Officer
Casey Hall: SVP, Marketing & Branding
Josh Dubin: Vice President, Marketing
Glenn Hyams: Sr. Manager, Marketing

Agency: Highdive
Megan Lally: CEO, Co-Founder
Chad Broude: CCO, Co-Founder
Mark Gross: CCO, Co-Founder
Brian Culp: Group Creative Director
Katie Bero :Group Creative Director
Pat Seidel: Creative Director
Chris Rose: Creative Director
Max May: Copywriter
Suzanne Stovall: Group Account Director
David Quinn: Account Director
Henry Sklar: Assistant Account Executive
Jen Passaniti: Head of Production
Luke LiManni; Executive Producer
Emily Addy: Senior Producer
Alex Cacioppo: Associate Strategy Director
Kelley Beaman: Director of Business Affairs
Joanna Peltier: Senior Manager, Business Affairs

Production
Production Company: True Story Films
Director: Ritesh Gupta
Producer: Katelyn Fukayama
Production Manager: Heather Brown
Director of Photography: Eric Koretz
Ronin Operator: Reid Murphy
1st AC: Lorenzo Porras
VTR: Adam Zielinski
Gaffer: Donald Reynolds
Art Director: Bill Bittman
Hair / Make-Up: Alisha Bailey
Sound Mixer: Ty Peterson
PA: Latoya Burdiss

Post Production
Editorial: Cutters
Editor: Billy Montross
Assistant Editor: Christian Leontios
Head of Production: Patrick Casey
Executive Producer: Heather Richardson
Finish & Color: 1986
Producer: Sabah Khan
VFX Supervisor: Randy McEntee
2D Lead: Jamie Beckwith
Color (Rare Medium): Ayumi Ashley
Sound Design & Mix: Another Country
Sound Designer/Mixer: Erik Widmark
Audio Assistant: Brett Rossiter
Producer: Josh Hunnicutt
Executive Producer: Louise Rider
Managing Director: Tim Konn

Music:
Song: Ca Plane Pour Moi
Artist: Plastic Bertrand
Composers: Francis Jean Deprijck, Yves Maurice A. Lacomblez
Publisher: Universal PolyGram Int. Publishing, Inc. on behalf of R.K.M.