National Signing Day is one of the biggest storytelling moments in college athletics. Every program is trying to stand out, celebrate its incoming class, and create something that gets people talking. In 2020, our Baylor creative team wanted to go beyond traditional announcement graphics and build something fans would actually remember.
At the time, recruits weren’t just announcing commitments. They were producing their own commitment videos and creative edits across social media. Many of these athletes grew up watching iconic puppet commercials featuring stars like LeBron and Kobe, so the idea of seeing a miniature version of themselves felt nostalgic and fun. That became the spark for the campaign.
Setting the Creative Ground Rules
Before we started brainstorming, we laid out three rules:
No “no’s.”
No excuses.
The craziest idea wins.
That mindset gave us permission to explore ideas that normally would have been shut down early. Instead of chasing safe concepts, we leaned into something unexpected that matched the personality of the moment.
The Puppet Idea
What started as a joke quickly turned into the foundation of the entire campaign. Inspired by Baylor alumnus Jeff Dunham, we created custom puppets for each signee and built videos around them.
The puppet videos were designed as recreations of each recruit’s commitment video, or as a commitment-style announcement for players who didn’t have one. We worked directly with the athletes to help shape the scripts, making sure the tone felt authentic to their personalities while still fitting the overall concept.
Signing Day content had started to blur together across college football, and we knew we needed something visually different. The puppet format gave each recruit their own spotlight while tying the entire class together creatively.
Some outlets described the approach as weird or unusual, but that was part of the goal. We wanted to create something people would stop scrolling for, and it worked. Media coverage quickly followed, and the campaign gained traction well beyond Baylor’s audience.
Bringing the Vision to Life
As Creative Lead, Videographer, and Editor, I helped shape the direction of the campaign and execute production alongside an incredibly talented team. Each puppet was built specifically for the recruit, and every video leaned into humor, personality, and storytelling rather than a traditional hype-video formula.
Instead of replacing the athletes’ own commitment content, the puppet videos acted as an extension of it. They celebrated the individuality of each signee while giving the entire Signing Day class a cohesive identity.
National Attention and Media Coverage
The response went far beyond our expectations. The campaign generated more than 1.5 million impressions on National Signing Day and picked up attention from outlets across college football.
You can read more about the campaign here:
Laughter and tears of joy: What Baylor and Notre Dame did to take recruiting videos to a new level (The Athletic)
The story behind Baylor football’s puppet show (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Across social media and national coverage, the puppets were praised for being creative, unexpected, and genuinely different from the usual Signing Day content.
Some Example Videos
Lessons From the Campaign
Looking back, the biggest takeaway wasn’t just the reach or impressions. It was proof that creativity works best when you lean into ideas that feel authentic instead of safe.
Recruits were already telling their own stories through commitment videos. Our job was to meet them where they were creatively and build something that amplified their voice in a way people hadn’t seen before.
