Full-service creative agency Barrett Hofherr has created a national multimedia campaign for performance boot and apparel brand Ariat featuring inspirational San Francisco 49er Brock Purdy, who rose from third-string quarterback to Super Bowl superstar in the 2023 season.
“Climb,” the 30-second spot, opens on a closeup of the 24-year-old’s face as Purdy looks past the camera and into the distance. When it cuts to his POV, we see that he’s staring down a football field that’s tilted upward into a mountain that’s seemingly endless.
Broadcast TV and online ads—:60, :30, and :15 spots—break September 9 during ABC Monday Night Football. Social, OOH, and in-store components will also go live around the same time. The work will run throughout the 2024-25 football season.
An Ariat fan since high school, Purdy connected with Ariat last fall when he wanted to gift his NFL offensive linemen Ariat cowboy boots for the holidays. During the fittings, Ariat and Brock discovered that they shared common values of teamwork, integrity, and hard work. From that moment, a partnership was born.
Ariat 2024 Brand BrockPurdy Climb
“It was very important to us that we developed a campaign featuring Brock that was emblematic of our shared values. To meet this objective, we needed a creative agency that was equally dedicated, understood Brock and sports, and local to the San Francisco Bay Area. Barrett Hofherr has been a wonderful partner to help us develop an inspirational campaign that embodies the values of both Brock and Ariat, and it will no doubt resonate with fans across the country.” said Liz Bradley, Chief Marketing Officer at Ariat.
“If you could turn Ariat into a football player, it would be Brock Purdy” said Jamie Barrett, Chief Creative Officer at Barrett Hofherr. “They have all the same qualities—hard-working, authentic, relentless. They see a challenge, they run toward it. Their stories are remarkable, and we’re excited to tell them.”
This is Ariat’s first campaign in the Purdy partnership. Other campaign elements include teaser posts about the visually compelling ad creative, making-of videos, and a six-part social series in which Purdy talks about his lifelong athletic journey—and rise from Mr. Irrelevant to 2023 Super Bowl QB. There are participatory components such as “Start Your Climb,” which encourages visitors to post their challenges and share inspirational stories of how they worked hard to overcome the odds, and a Giphy sticker pack with Purdy icons to cheer them on.
About Ariat International, Inc.
Founded in 1993 as “The New Breed of Boot,” Ariat was the first to integrate athletic footwear technology into boots for equestrian athletes. Today, Ariat develops innovative and award-winning performance footwear and apparel for demanding outdoor and work environments. The company takes its name from Secretariat, the greatest racehorse of all time.
About Barrett Hofherr
Barrett Hofherr, founded in 2012, is a full-service creative advertising agency—aka The Biggest Small Agency in the World™. They combine the experience and capabilities of big agencies with the efficiency and responsiveness of a smaller shop. Client partners include DoorDash, Yahoo, Habit Burger Grill,, Sutter Health, DXL Big & Tall, and more. For information, visit www.barretthofherr.com
Credits
Client: Ariat
Agency: Barrett Hofherr
Chief Creative Officer: Jamie Barrett
Executive Creative Directors: Jamie Barrett and Todd Eisner
Creative Director/Art Director: Melissa Macarian
Head Of Production: Conor Duignan
Executive Producer: Charlotte Dugoni
Chief Strategy Officer: Matt Hofherr
Associate Strategy Director: Kevin Albrecht
Account Director: Helen Oddone
Production Company & City: Stadium, LA
Director: Joe Connor
Managing Director: Doug Halbert
Executive Producer: Charlie Cocuzza And Ryan Hawkins
Line Producer: Bar Hariely
Director of Photography: Chuk Owens
Editorial Company & City: Cartel, LA
Editor: Kyle Valenta
Assistant Editors: Eirinn Disbrow and Joelle Wagner
Post Producer: Erin Bates
Executive Producer: Viet-An Nguyen
Music Company & City: Barking Owl
Executive Producer: KC Dossett
Creative Director: Johanna Cranitch
Composer: Jon Olmstead
Associate Producer: Blaise Justice
Managing Director: Carol Dunn
Founder: Kelly Bayett
Visual Effects Company & City: The Mill, LA and London
Visual Effects Managing Director: Anastasia Von Rahl
Visual Effects Supervisor: Pedro Da Silva Santos
Colorist: Paul Yacono
Visual Effects Artists: Tara Holland (If You Can Only Put One), Can Y. Sanalan, Fredrik Macleod, Fredrick Bauer-Schlichtegroll, Yoon-Sun Bae
Color Assistant: Ali Soofi
Visual Effects Head of Production: Scott Tinter
Visual Effect Executive Producer: Krista Staudt and William Unterreiner
Visual Effects Producer: Chris Preston Barnes
Color Producer: Denise Brown
Mix Company & City: One Union, San Francisco
Sound Engineer: Joaby Deal
Executive Producer: Michael Swarce
Business Affairs: Tricia Krasneski