Breaking from traditional sports marketing, the NHL’s newest franchise, the Utah Mammoth, has made its debut with a cinematic launch film that trades fast cuts and gritty locker room clichés for something rooted in myth, mystery, and nature. Directed by Zeppelin Zeerip of Salt Lake City-based Field Work Creative, the spot positions the Mammoth not just as a team, but as an ancient force waking beneath Utah’s frozen terrain.
“This wasn’t just a rebrand or a promo piece,” said Zeerip. “It was the birth of an NHL identity. They needed a production partner who could move fast, push creatively, and carry some weight. When they called, we jumped in with both feet.”
Crafted in close collaboration with the Mammoth’s in-house brand team, the launch spot tells a layered story. It opens on a group of kids exploring a natural history museum. In parallel, a lone hiker uncovers a tusk deep inside a mountain cave. Both threads converge in a moment of awe as the Mammoth itself begins to stir under the ice of a hockey arena. The spot closes with a mammoth tusk bursting through the surface and the team’s new rallying cry: Tusks Up. Watch below:
Zeerip, whose background in outdoor and documentary filmmaking lends the piece a grounded, cinematic tone, said the goal was to build a sense of myth, not just hype. “Most teams go with speed and intensity. For this one, we leaned into mythmaking. The Mammoth wasn’t just a name. It became a presence. We wanted it to feel ancient and alive, something you could discover, not just root for.”
The concept was developed internally by the Mammoth’s brand team, with Field Work brought on to shape the narrative and lead production. From greenlight to shoot, the project moved at a breakneck pace, with just eight days to cast, scout locations, secure permits, and storyboard.
“We shot in three wildly different environments,” said Zeerip. “A museum, a real cave system, and a snow-covered mountain road rigged for pursuit shots. That cave sequence, dropping in lighting and camera rigs by rope, was more cinema than commercial. That’s the heart of it for me.”
CREDITS:
BRAND: Utah Mammoth
AGENCY: Utah Mammoth In-House
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Field Work
- Director/EP: Zeppelin Zeerip
- Producer: Brian Durkee
- Creative Director/EP: Chris George
- Post-Production Director: Kevin Charles
- Creative Production Manager: Josh Joon Lee
- Copywriter: David Shum
- Producer: Colin Fenner
- DP: Bentley Rawle
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