From Sketch to Screen in Under Three Weeks: FanDuel's 2026 Kentucky Derby Campaign

‍Partners: FanDuel (direct client, no agency) Industry: Sports Betting Project Type: Social Ad Campaign

The Backstory

For their 2026 Kentucky Derby push, FanDuel came to Cumberland Creative directly, with no agency in between. That meant Cumberland wasn't just the production company, it was the creative agency too, responsible for developing the concepts and then shooting, editing, and delivering the finished ads. FanDuel needed a set of ads that would capture Derby Day energy and get people excited to place their bets, all with a distinctly comedic, office-culture spin.

The Challenge

The timeline was the whole story. FanDuel needed the ads live and running well ahead of the Kentucky Derby in early May, but the project got the green light with less than a week of pre-production before the shoot. On the back end, the team had just about a week of post-production to turn raw footage into three fully finished, client-ready ads. Concept, casting, location, shoot, edit, and delivery all had to happen inside a three-week window.

The Creative Vision

To pull it off, Cumberland brought in director Spencer Showalter, known for his sharp comedic instincts on commercial work (see his Pioneer Home Services campaign for another example). Spencer wrote the concepts for all three ads in a matter of days, building out a mockumentary-style office world where a mysterious "new guy," a countdown calendar, and a break room full of horse puns all build toward Derby Day chaos.

From Sketch to Screen

Every beat started as a hand-drawn storyboard panel, scene numbers, shot angles, and scribbled dialogue mapped out frame by frame before a single camera rolled. Watching those sketches next to the finished footage is a good reminder of how much of the comedic timing and blocking gets locked in long before production day.

Those sketches became fully lit, fully cast scenes on set:

Behind the Scenes

The team rented an empty office building in Nashville and transformed it into a fully believable corporate world, decaf and "Mint Julep" labels on the coffee pots, a "Winner's Circle" sign taped over the conference room door, a countdown calendar to the Derby. Art director Kennedy Anderson and her team handled that transformation, building out the props and set dressing that gave the comedy room to breathe.

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Casting leaned on Nashville's comedy scene, with much of the cast pulled from Oddity Improv in Franklin, TN, whose background in improv made them a natural fit for the loose, reactive energy the scripts called for.

By the numbers:

• Less than 1 week of pre-production
• 1 filming day
• 1 location
• 14 crew
• 16 actors and extras
• 3 ads delivered within 2 weeks of wrapping

The Deliverables

Three finished :15 social ads, all shot and delivered inside the same tight window:

The Result

FanDuel got three fully produced, comedy-driven ads, from first concept sketch to final delivery, in under three weeks, with enough runway to promote their Derby Day offers ahead of the race. It's a good example of what Cumberland can do when it's steering both the creative and the production under a serious deadline.

Full Credits

Crew Director: Spencer Showalter Producer: Ryan Kanaly PA: Drew Gaffron DP: Mike White Gaffer: Justin Sulham Sound: Alonso Cacho AC: Molly Trunnel Grip: Robert Mullen Grip: Grant Rasnick Art Director: Kennedy Anderson H+MU: Kat Derickson Wardrobe Stylist: Casey Stivender Stylist Assist: Taylor Mulka Craft Services: Jamie Leffler

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Talent Main 1: Josh Barry Main 2: Chris Guerra Main 3: Rachel Brun Main 4: Brian Jones Main 5: Nadia Earnest Extra: Taylor Ray Extra: Laurel Grider Extra: Julie Knechtel Extra: Elizabeth Upshur Extra: Matthew Perl Extra: Donald Hollowell Extra: George Brown Extra: Marc Dobbels Extra: Adam Wheeley Extra: Josh Haggerty Extra: Del Sable

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