Peyton Manning has become one of the most popular pitchmen on Madison Avenue. Now he wants his production company to become one of the most popular agencies behind the industry scenes.
As the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade unfurls on NBC on Thursday, attentive viewers may notice a 90-second vignette that plays during programming time and features Alison Brie, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, musician Conan Gray, host John O’Hurley and one of the stars of K-Pop Demon Hunters. Omaha Productions, Manning’s production company, helped produce the segment, which features many of the celebrities looking for ways to find the perfect gift, on behalf of Macy’s. The unique assemblage ties together many of the elements of the day, which also features NBC’s telecast of the The National Dog Show and an NFL match-up.
The sequence may be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. NBC was able to snare an average of $865,000 for a 30-second ad in its 2023 parade broadcast, according to Guideline, a tracker of ad spending, and has been seeking a higher price in 2025, owing to increasing interest by advertisers in live events and sports telecasts that reach broad viewership.
“Macy’s isn’t just the parade at the top of the day, but they actually are the through line to the Dog Show and to the NFL,” says Hannah Biondi, senior director of branded content at Omaha Productions, during a recent interview. Omaha worked to convene the group of famous faces as part of an assignment from Sharon Otterman, Macy’s chief marketing officer to “help them kick off the holiday season.”
Omaha has won notice in recent years for its popular “ManningCast,” a loose analysis of ESPN’s regular “Monday Night Football” that features Peyton and Eli Manning and an ever-changing assortment of guests. But the company, which was founded by Manning and veteran producer Jamie Horowitz and counts Patrick Whitesell and Peter Chernin as investors, is expanding beyond sports alterna-casts and other unscripted fare.
In recent months, Omaha has done a lot of work for insurance giant Nationwide and produced a live pregame morning show, “Breakfast at Bethpage, that ran ahead of the PGA of America’s Ryder Cup, streaming on NBCUniversal’s Peacock and the league’s digital outlets. Colin Jost and Marcello Hernandez of “Saturday Night Live” helped host the proceedings.
Such content “is a growing piece of our business,” says Biondi.
Peyton Manning knows a lot about advertising, because he is in demand as an on-screen booster for much of it. In recent years, the NFL legend has appeared in commercials for FanDuel, Oreo, Michelob Ultra, NFL Sunday Ticket, Buick, Gatorade and Papa John’s.
Now, he appears to be offering his company’s services. Omaha Productions can use its contacts in the sports and entertainment worlds to bring different types of personalities together, says Biondi. “We can branch throughout the sports and entertainment space to bring clients good content and good production.”
