The New Jersey Devils announced the historic release of the organization’s first-ever third jersey, and Groove Jones helped launch the design with an AR campaign.
The Devils launched the franchise’s first-ever black jersey, trimmed in white with touches of red, which weaves together Jersey pride, Devils’ history, and the state’s professional hockey heritage. The jersey was created in collaboration with the New Jersey Devils, NHL, and Adidas and guided by the Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur, who is the winningest goaltender in NHL history and the team’s backstop to three championships. He can now add Jersey Designer to his illustrious resume.
The Devils built an aggressive and wide-ranging promotional program that incorporated third jersey branding and an associated merchandise line over a series of events, promotions, and advertising campaigns over the past several months.
About The Production – Teaser Campaign
The Devils partnered with renowned augmented reality agency Groove Jones to create an immersive experience for the tease and reveal of the new sweater.
In the weeks leading up to the announcement and unveiling, AR posters featuring the New Jersey state outline and the word REPRESENT (but featured no Devils branding) were placed throughout the state in an effort to tease fans and residents in New Jersey cryptically. Groove Jones crafted an AR effect so that when activated, the posters revealed the jersey material and striping and a date – 11.23.21 – enticing people to come back and reactivate the effect and learn what it was all about.
Launch Campaign
On 11.23.21 the activated posters show the intricate design details and storytelling elements of the new sweater. The activation was a trip throughout time that brought together New Jersey’s hockey past, present, and future.
The story of New Jersey hockey unfolded as historical photos revealed design elements of jerseys worn by some of the first pro hockey teams in the state that were woven together to make this new sweater come to life. The audio track provided an exciting background as fans cheered up to the jersey reveal, bringing New Jersey hockey’s history and lore together with its current star players.
Then, the experience revealed a photorealistic 3D version of the new third jersey that fans could interact with, see from all angles, and get up close to see the stitching and materials in beautiful detail.
The posters can be found at the following locations below through December:
- NJ Transit & Path stations (Morristown, Newark Penn, Summit, Princeton, Westfield, Montclair, Summit, Exchange Place, Hoboken, Journal Square)
- Simon Malls (Livingston, Menlo Park, Newport Centre, Rockaway Square) and the American Dream Mall
The Jersey Story
The design of the jersey, and the entire uniform, is distinct to the Devils’ home state in two key ways:
The jersey exudes pride as the Devils are the only professional team that plays in this state while wearing it across their chest. Having played for their entire existence in New Jersey with the horned and tailed “NJ”, they now proudly spell it out with “Jersey”. The 21 stripes on the jersey are reflective of the 21 counties that make up the Garden State.
Its black and striping pattern pays homage to a history of hockey in the Garden State, stretching from “North Jersey” to “South Jersey”- drawing inspiration from professional teams across the entire state that call New Jersey home.
The Newark Bulldogs (Canadian American Hockey League, 1928-29, Newark, NJ- Newark arena never built); River Vale Skeeters (Eastern Hockey League, 1939-1942, River Vale, NJ- River Vale Ice Arena); Jersey Larks (Eastern Hockey League, 1960-61, Cherry Hill, NJ- Haddonfield Ice.
And as a nod to the Devils’ history, the five stripes over the left shoulder are a nod to the five retired player banners that hang from the Prudential Center rafters. Additionally, the three championship years are placed inside the collar.
