ESPN give March Madness obsession a name: Bracketbrain

Every March, basketball takes over the world.

Productivity plummets, group chats explode, and even the most casual fans suddenly have very strong opinions on bubble teams. The phenomenon is so powerful that it leads to a 22% drop in workplace productivity, costing businesses an estimated $17 billion in lost work hours, all thanks to one thing: brackets.

This year, ESPN and longtime creative partner BSSP are giving that obsession a name: Bracketbrain, a state of mind where all you see, think, and dream about is the tournament. Your boss is talking, but all you hear is commentary. Your spreadsheets start looking like seed matchups. You wake up in a cold sweat, convinced you picked the wrong Final Four. That’s Bracketbrain.

ESPN – Bracketbrain

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Agency BSSP/Sausalito
Production Company Imposter
Director Viktor Horvath

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Credits

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Agency BSSP/Sausalito
Production Company Imposter
Director Viktor Horvath
Executive Producer Mercedes Allen-Sarria
Head of Production Todd Ruhnau
Editing Cosmo Street/New York
Assistant Editor Alex Mihailovic
Editor Craig Deardorff

Head of Production Anne Lai
Edit Producer Paolo Solarte
VFX Loom Post
Color Ethos Studio
Colorist Sam Howells
Color Producer Ben Ferren
Sound Design Mr Bronx Audio Post/New York
Sound Designer/Engineer Geoff Strasser

Audio Producer Maggie Norsworthy
Executive Creative Director Sinan Dagli
Creative Director Robyn Tenenbaum
Associate Creative Director Chris Streger
Senior Writer Chris Barnard
Senior Art Director Riley Shine
Associate Design Director Dennis Remsing
Executive Producer Cade Wallace

Senior Producer Nick Ocean
Line Producer Janice Woods
Production Designer Winona Yu
DP Ben Mullen / (DP)
VFX Producer Terry Huynh
VFX Supervisor Corentin De Saedeleer
VFX Artist Peter Amante
VFX Producer Mike Tockman

Sound Producer Paolo Solarte

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To bring this universal experience to life, BSSP has created a hilarious 30-second spot following an office worker in the grips of full-blown Bracketbrain. Brackets appear everywhere, on screens, in conversations, even in their subconscious, proving that when March hits, there’s no escaping it. And when Bracketbrain takes hold? There’s only one cure: playing ESPN Tournament Challenge, the #1 bracket game.

Beyond the film, the campaign extends across digital and out-of-home (OOH) executions, further cementing Bracketbrain as the only diagnosis that fans want to catch. With ESPN Tournament Challenge coming off consecutive record-breaking signup years, ESPN is aiming for double-digit year-over-year growth, continuing to dominate the bracket space.

By naming the madness, ESPN and BSSP have turned a cultural moment into something even bigger, an idea fans, media, and brands can rally around. Because when March hits, it’s not just basketball on everyone’s minds, it’s Bracketbrain. And the only way to cure it? Play ESPN Tournament Challenge.