Forward of the 2026 NFL Draft, the league teamed with two Steelers greats to hammer dwelling some messages.
With the 2026 NFL Draft coming to Pittsburgh on April 23-25, the NFL introduced in legendary Pittsburgh Steelers Cam Heyward and Jerome Bettis, in addition to a sledgehammer, to get the phrase out in its new advert, “Smash the Glass,” which debuted on Wednesday.
Within the advert, created internally with L.A.-based NFL Artistic Advertising, Heyward and Bettis are within the Steelers’ Corridor of Honor, with Heyward able to take a sledgehammer to a Tremendous Bowl ring show to make sure the Steelers’ rings are featured on the 2026 Draft.
Bettis stops Heyward simply earlier than he destroys the show, noting, “I’m certain there’s a key for that.”
Following the interplay between Heyward and Bettis, the advert cuts to footage of previous drafts, noting the Draft Day occasions in Pittsburgh embrace music, video games, activations, and it’s all free to attend.
“The Steelers are such part of the town that we wished to ensure we had been capturing that with two individuals who simply actually characterize the workforce greater than the rest,” Tony Isetta, NFL vp of content material advertising, instructed ADWEEK.
For every NFL Draft, the league tries to seize the spirit of the host metropolis, Isetta defined, noting that the Draft expertise is the league’s “centerpiece of fan engagement” throughout Draft week: “It’s a free, immersive soccer pageant. There are such a lot of issues you are able to do there,” Isetta mentioned.
The chief mentioned the 2026 Draft will incorporate varied components of Pittsburgh, bringing the expertise to every little thing from the walkable Roberto Clemente Bridge to the town’s Gateway Clipper Fleet.
Points of interest and actions embrace a 40-yard Sprint and autograph periods at Pointe State Park, a North Shore Play60 Zone with vertical soar and area objective challenges, extra area objective kicking and fan viewing experiences on Acrisure Subject, and a Bud Mild Beer Corridor and Style of Pittsburgh restaurant experiences discovered on the North Shore. Followers can even anticipate a lot of native distributors to be concerned.
“That is an unbelievable soccer metropolis, and I can’t wait to see followers from world wide come right here, as a result of Steelers followers aren’t like anybody else,” Bettis mentioned in an announcement.
Bud Mild is the presenting sponsor of the Draft, however a number of different manufacturers can even play a job, together with Lowe’s, Verizon, Marriott Bonvoy, Snickers, and Copilot by Microsoft. In the meantime, American Specific, the newly introduced Official Funds Accomplice of the NFL, is bringing experiences to tentpole occasions, together with the Draft, and Toyota will function the Draft’s purple carpet sponsor.
