Jokes that Burn More Than a 155 MPH Serve

The Situation

Our client, the Andy Roddick Foundation, is a nonprofit organization that works to expand opportunities for young people to learn and thrive.

Fundraising is an essential component to the foundation’s work in the community, helping to expand opportunities for young people to learn and succeed.

Each year, the foundation hosts a gala to raise funds for the upcoming year, but given the unique landscape 2020 presented, the Andy Roddick Foundation had to find new, creative ways to fundraise in place of this event.

After a few brainstorming sessions, they decided to host the Andy Roddick Foundation virtual event titled, “No Love: A Roast of Andy Roddick,” and we had the privilege of branding and promoting the event this past October.

Big Names, Even Bigger Burns

Celebrity guests included Bobby Bones, John Legend, Peyton Manning, Mandy Moore, and more, taking advantage of the digital distance to roast Andy on the virtual screen.

The Creative Approach

When the goal is making fun of the face of your company, you really have to lean into it. We knew that fans of Andy and tennis were going to be our target audience, so capitalizing on the game’s own lingo was our starting point.

While the sport is notoriously polite, this event was going to be anything but that. We took an approach that flipped that kind and courteous mentality on its head.

In tennis “love” means zero. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. That provided the perfect jumping off point for our name.

Each of our celebrity roasters had a personal relationship with Andy, or his wife, model and actress Brooklyn Decker, that made it possible to somehow be really mean and also supernice at the same time.

Because the livestream access ranged from inexpensive individual tickets to larger sponsorship packages, we embraced a style more befitting a Grand Slam tournament than a black tie gala. The brand could be dressed up or down and regardless of the execution, we always reminded our audience that this event would be a lively and energetic night.

We’re not sure if we’ll go 2-0 with another virtual event but if you’d like to learn more about the Andy Roddick Foundation, stay apprised of upcoming events or see how you can help, visit arffoundation.org.

Jeff Noel

Jeff’s got a reputation for invoking deep belly laughter – and laughing a lot himself. But jokes aside, the man’s got enough wisdom and wit to pencil his own anthology.