Josh Duhamel Teams With L.A. Rams on Draft Video: “People Are Going to Be Really Hype About This”

Josh Duhamel and his Dakota Media have been in the lab with the Los Angeles Rams.

The result is a new project titled “Change the Equation,” and it finds the Rams (and a few celebrity friends) “heading back to the lab” per se to formulate the 2023 team in the SoFi Draft Lab, which serves as the headquarters for the organization during the upcoming NFL Draft. It stars Breaking Bad Emmy-winning pair Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul (Dos Hombres Mezcal co-founders), superstar DJ Diplo and comedy icon Cheech Marin as they assist the Rams in finding the perfect formula for this year’s draft. Diplo also contributed music for the 90-second clip.

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The spot is the latest installment in a creative series that the Rams kicked off in 2021 as a way to spotlight the team’s NFL Draft activities. The first one starred Rebel Wilson and a host of guest stars (including Rams players) and was set at a luxury Malibu home for director Justin Polk. Last year’s branded short came from director Paul Hunter and proved to be a high-octane offering that featured the talents of Josh Holloway, Scott Eastwood, Tyrese Gibson and Dennis Quaid.

“Change the Equation” is a coup for Duhamel’s Dakota Media, a creative agency that specializes in talent-driven projects, brand storytelling, production and media. The actor, filmmaker and producer is partners in the endeavor with Joshua Algra and Mick and Will Kelleher. The foursome has worked for such companies as the PGA, 3M, Open Table, AT&T, Hyundai, Bobcat and others.

The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Duhamel to talk about collaborating with the Rams organization on the spot, how his team splits creative duties and why it was so important to feature Rams fans in the project. The conversation comes just weeks ahead of Duhamel’s next big-screen outing in Buddy Games 2. Out May 19, the sequel is part of the film franchise that is based on his own idea and inspired by real-life experiences, and also served as the inspiration for a new CBS reality competition series.

But first more about “Change the Equation”: The video pays homage to stars the Rams drafted over the years like Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Jordan Fuller, Van Jefferson and Ernest Jones, the family and friends of players who celebrate that moment, and the fans who make up the “Ramily.” It debuts on the L.A. Rams’ digital and social channels and is timed to this week’s NFL Draft for which the Rams will be posted up at the SoFi Draft Lab for all three days of the NFL Draft from April 27–29.

How did this project come to you and Dakota Media?

We started this digital media company a few years ago and have slowly built up a nice little resume of work, and we’re having a blast. So far, it’s mostly branded storytelling for various companies. We’ve been friends with [Rams vp brand strategy] Lexi Vonderlieth over at the Rams, and we went and pitched them on some ideas, mostly smaller stuff. We’ve stayed in touch with them and they asked us to pitch an idea for the draft house that they do every year. I was a big fan of what they’ve been doing, and when they asked us to come up with [a concept], I was like, “Oof, here we go. This is a big one.”

Last year’s video was about a heist, stealing the draft after having no picks because they won the Super Bowl, and it was really fun. They didn’t have such a great year last year so this became about going back to the drawing board or going back to the lab in all its various metaphors for what that means to different people. We got Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, Diplo and Cheech Marin and others who helped drive this thing and narrate us through. To me, one of the most important elements of it was the fans. I really wanted the fans to be a part of this because oftentimes we get so caught up in the Hollywood glitz and glam because it’s Los Angeles.

Why was that so important to you?

When it comes to this city and this team, it’s as much about the people and the fans as it is about anything else. And that really comes through here because this organization has a really deep history. They were in L.A. and then they were in St. Louis and now they’re back. So, it’s been a little difficult, I think, for the fan base to follow them after they left and came back and I wanted to offer a reminder of that history, how important it is, how good this team really is and how great their leadership is. I got a chance to sit with [general manager] Les Snead, [head coach] Sean McVey and [defensive coordinator] Raheem Morris, and they’re just incredible dudes, captains of industry in their field. That’s what really impresses me, how good they are, how accomplished and comfortable they are, especially at such a young age. Sean was 30 when he got that job. I mean, 30. I could barely balance my checkbook at 30, and he’s running the Rams.

What were the collaborations like with the Rams organization?

That’s always the fun for me in this. Dakota started like a side hustle for me, something fun to do as a way to do more directing, editing and be involved in creative development. I love coming up with ideas and thinking outside the box; finding ways to be positively disruptive. That’s what our company is about, finding new ways for people to see what they always thought something could be. We wanted to tell fun stories that could penetrate all the noise. That’s what we’ve done for companies like 3M, Bobcat and a bunch of others that we’ve worked with.

That’s why working with the Rams on this has been so fun because they have the same ideas and they wanted to do something different. The idea of making a little movie, a 90-second spot around the draft? Nobody else does that — at least not at this level. The opportunity to work with Lexi, [Rams vp and general manager, Rams Studios] Marissa Daly and [Rams chief marketing officer] Kathryn Kai-ling Frederick has been so incredibly collaborative. Sometimes companies are more open and sometimes they aren’t but the Rams have been so much fun. It’s been a dream. They’ve let us go off and come up with some really fun stuff because they trusted us. I think people are going to be really hype about this. If you’re a fan of football, and especially if you’re a fan of the Rams, you’re gonna watch this and go, “Fuck yeah, I am pumped for the 2023 football season.”

The credits that I read said that your company Dakota directed and produced this spot. How do you split duties? Who directed and who produced?

Ollie [Stokes] is the official director but I directed parts of it and he directed parts of it. We kind of just split the duties. We don’t really have ego when it comes to that. We just literally want to deliver the best possible project. What I brought to it was this tailgate idea that came to life. It wasn’t a part of the original pitch, so I took that part over. It’s been a full, all-hands-on-deck approach. We all just do whatever we need to do to make it as great as possible.

I would imagine that landing a big project like this inspires what you want to do next for Dakota?

Yeah. It really is a big deal for our company. I really feel like we’re making strides and doing really cool stuff. We want to keep working with really cool companies, telling really cool stories. I want to do a Super Bowl commercial next year. That’s what I want. I want people to say, “Damn, these guys could deliver an amazing commercial for our brand.” I believe we can do it. This is going to be the proof that we can.

For me personally, it’s just a chance to keep my chops up as a creator. I love acting and it’s where I make my living, but I really love the creative and collaborative process, the making of the sausage. I love coming up with clever ideas, putting them down on paper, putting together the physical production, shooting it, editing it, sound designing it, like all the things that go into it. It’s sometimes way more work than it’s worth. But at the end of the day, it’s what I love to do. And I just want to get better and better.

Does this mean you will be at more Rams games next season, and if so, who will tell your beloved Vikings?

That’s the thing, I’m probably going to take a lot of crap from my friends. Anybody that knows me, knows I love my Vikings, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t deliver an amazing product for the Rams. I’ve really learned to really love this team, this incredible organization and all of the people who lead it — everyone from the coaches to the GM to the marketing team. They’ve all been really fun to work with and they gave us a huge shot. How can we not take it? I will always and forever be a Viking fan but that doesn’t mean I can’t root for the Rams as well.

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