The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs are persevering with to lean into romance. The staff, which has made extra headlines than ever this season due to tight finish Travis Kelce’s relationship with Taylor Swift, is celebrating the playoffs season with an entire new marketing campaign titled ‘Tis the Preseason. (Is {that a} nod to Swift’s “‘Tis the Rattling Season”? You be the decide.)

A part of that marketing campaign is a brand new trailer for a film titled “Falling for Soccer.” A spoof on all of the cliches of a made-for-TV film, whereas celebrating the Chiefs Kingdom, the video stars Hallmark Channel staples Tyler Hynes and Janel Parrish; her character hates the postseason after being left on the altar for a playoff sport, whereas he works on the Chiefs’ merchandise retailer. First, he hides his love for soccer from her, however when she finds out, she’s torn on what to do.

So, she turns to Donna Kelce, who’s working at a neighborhood diner, and asks “How may he love me and soccer.” The proud mother of two NFL gamers on totally different groups responds, “You already know, the guts will be in two locations directly.”

The couple, in fact, finds love ultimately after she takes Donna’s recommendation. Plus, there are seemingly just a few Swift Easter Eggs within the video. Proper earlier than Parrish leaves the diner, offensive lineman Creed Humphrey proclaims “Order quantity 13” is prepared; Swift’s fortunate quantity is 13. In one other scene, Hynes is organizing friendship bracelets — a staple on Swift’s Eras tour.

The trailer, Hynes tells Selection, got here collectively extraordinarily rapidly. The Chiefs reached out on to his staff in early December. A number of days later, proper after he appeared at ChristmasCon, he hopped on a airplane to Kansas Metropolis. Upon arrival, he and Parrish, who costarred on this yr’s Hallmark Christmas film “By no means Been Chris’d,” had been taken on a tour of the stadium and given customized Chiefs jerseys.

Whereas Hynes may be very accustomed to meet-cute moments on display — he’s starred in 17 films for Hallmark Media, one in all which landed the highest spot on our Finest Hallmark Motion pictures Ever checklist — sports activities aren’t precisely his forte. Rising up in Canada, he didn’t attend a bunch of soccer video games… nor was he a Swiftie.

“I’m now,” he says. “Soccer and Taylor Swift are new issues to me. I grew up with out the cash to afford organized sports activities and was a skateboarder, however going to Kansas, the parents who had been taking good care of us there — the entire PR staff, everybody — I used to be genuinely moved and touched by this entire expertise and the way candy these folks had been. They gave us jerseys with our names on them. And it was actually, actually stunning. I went residence and began watching the Netflix documentary sequence, quick forwarding to all of Patrick Mahomes’ elements.”

Plus, he’s been listening to much more of Swift’s music.

“I’m the issue, it’s me,” Hynes says with fun throughout our interview. Actually, that music, “Anti-Hero” got here out whereas filming his 2023 Hallmark film “A Image of Her,” and he couldn’t cease saying that line on set. Now, it’s all come full circle. “She’s such an icon. Her world is huge, nevertheless it looks as if it’s such a tight-knit neighborhood, it doesn’t appear unreflective of the parents who watch our channel.”

As a part of the ‘Tis the Postseason marketing campaign, Chiefs followers can store for gadgets proven within the retailer that Hynes’ character works in — together with the unique “Candy Nectar of the Endzone” candle — and so they can entry recipes from The Kingdom Cookbook, which incorporates recipes from Chiefs gamers, employees and their households, on the Chiefs cellular app.

The planning started only a few months in the past, Chiefs EVP and CMO Lara Krug tells Selection, noting that they “reviewed a number of ideas” however one hit near residence for each the staff and the native company they labored with. “The concept of the playoffs as their very own vacation resonated with us internally. Holidays are full of traditions, celebrations and so they’re a trigger for gathering with household and pals. As soon as we landed on that idea, we actually began to dig into distinctive methods we may ship that vacation feeling. That’s the place the concept of the film trailer got here in, it was an opportunity to take this complete made-for-TV film style and apply a Chiefs twist to it for our followers.”

She provides, “As a result of nothing is promised or assured, it creates a particular feeling of anticipation for gamers, coaches, employees and followers alike. This yr, we leaned into the postseason as its personal vacation and are inviting Chiefs Kingdom to rejoice with us. Whilst you gained’t discover this vacation printed on calendars, the household traditions, tales, recipes, decorations, and made-for-TV film trailer all emphasize the thrill that Chiefs Kingdom can rejoice collectively throughout the globe.”

Krug tells Selection they thought it was essential so as to add expertise in that “would add a stage of authenticity,” which made Parrish and Hynes excellent, since they “are acknowledged by followers of the style and have their very own fan following, lots of whom will not be accustomed to the Chiefs model or Kansas Metropolis typically.”

“We knew that we may add further expertise and celebrities to provide it a extra native flare, however we wished the primary expertise to be true to the fashion and feeling of this class,” she says, including that when it got here to including in present Chiefs gamers, that they had to determine scheduling and whose personalities would work greatest. “We work with our inside assets to be respectful of the gamers’ time and the variety of requests that they obtain each internally and externally. Whereas Patrick and Travis could be the largest names by way of recognition, they have already got numerous issues pulling them in numerous instructions and may not be the proper match for each mission. Working as a part of the staff, we will discover gamers who’re most focused on tasks like this and place them in new and enjoyable methods to our followers and the viewers.”

To take action, they introduced in Humphrey, Trey Smith and Tommy Townsend who “appeared to actually benefit from the expertise.”

For his half, Hynes jumped on the alternative to be a part of the idea, noting how sensible he thought it was from a branding place to deal with the postseason as a vacation.

“It’s in good style. It’s type of celebrating these Hallmark films, and I’m at all times focused on doing that. It simply looks as if genuinely, all the identical of us are into it,” he tells Selection. “There’s a restricted quantity of locations, it appears, the place there may be very honest, pure interplay and intention. I really feel like there’s a little bit of a mirror picture with that particular fandom and Hallmark Channel… I feel there’s a little bit of a crossover and there’s a mixture of that viewers that’s into being very passionate and honest of their healthful pursuit of leisure and being impressed by whether or not it’s athletes or a pleasant story. It feels prefer it’s all a part of the identical universe.”

Whereas Hallmark wasn’t concerned on this collaboration, they tapped into that universe final month. ESPN reached out to the community to work collectively on a section, throughout which author Julie Sherman Wolfe broke down the NFL soccer season as a Hallmark Christmas film. It aired on Christmas Eve on each “Sunday NFL Countdown” and “SportsCenter.”

The Hallmark viewers and the NFL viewers undoubtedly overlap. In keeping with USA F22, 24% of Hallmark Channel’s complete day viewers was male throughout “Countdown to Christmas,” the community’s annual vacation film occasion. Hallmark Channel can be the No. 3 most-watched cable community with males, solely after ESPN and Fox Information. Plus, greater than 50% of the “Countdown to Christmas” viewers watched ESPN over the vacation season final yr.

“One group that we’re at all times attempting to interact with is millennial dad and mom. They could or will not be situated in Kansas Metropolis, however wherever they’re, they’re normally actually in-tune and engaged with our content material and so they have kids who’re rising as much as be Chiefs followers as properly,” Krug says of the fanbase. “We thought this kind of quick movie would communicate to them. We additionally know this style of movie has considerably of a cult following due to the feel-good nature and the heart-warming storylines that so many take pleasure in throughout the holidays. So, by taking part in into a few of these fulfilling, predictable cliches whereas infusing some enjoyable cameos for the normal soccer fan, we thought this may hit the proper tone as we begin our playoff season.”

Watch the Chiefs’ full “Falling for Soccer” trailer beneath: