The Bowl Game Battleground

Over the last couple years, college bowl games have become a hotbed for big, loud, potentially absurd brand stunts. As a proud sponsor of a bowl game—and a leader in marketing that’s not afraid to get a little silly—Duke’s wanted to make their mark on college football in a way that couldn't be ignored. The question was, how?

Harnessing Mascot Power

We got to brainstorming headline-worthy acts, and ultimately devised a plan: in a grand televised moment, we’d remove the costume of Tubby, the Duke’s mascot originally created by Familiar Creatures years ago. Underneath would be none other than hip-hop’s greatest hype man, FLAVOR FLAV.

To add to the firepower, we decided to reveal Flav right before the mayo dump, AKA, the tradition where the winning coach gets a cooler full of mayo dumped on their head. This would ensure maximum media coverage and a savory interaction between legends.

The Great Flavor Dump of 2025

After rehearsing the stunt with Flav himself just hours prior, the moment had finally come. After accepting his trophy, Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck made his way to the stadium’s northwest tunnel as cameras and the entire Minnesota team crowded around to watch. The coach’s reaction to Flav and the mayo dump that followed were, frankly, nothing short of spectacular. See for yourself:

The Lasting Buzz

The stunt garnered enough hype to make its way onto ESPN’s broadcast, and since then the headlines haven’t stopped coming. Variety, Sports Illustrated, USA Today…the list goes on. As for the next mayo dump? Well, you’ll have to wait and see. Bring goggles though, the mayo splash zone is a thing.

Earned Coverage: