The archive · Content & Film · Marketing decision · 2023
Gucci and British GQ let Jalen Ramsey interview himself in A Hero's Journey
In a Gucci and British GQ film, NFL star Jalen Ramsey hosts and guests his own interview, answering the questions the press never asks him.
Gucci · British GQ
What it had to solve
NFL superstar Jalen Ramsey wanted to take control of his own narrative and unpack what makes him tick, how he preserves his mindset and everything that makes him great — questions the press does not ask him directly. Gucci and British GQ made the film together.
How it works
Jalen Ramsey, one of the NFL's biggest stars, was used to answering questions — but only the ones the press chose to ask. For a Gucci and British GQ film, he wanted to take control of the narrative and talk about what actually makes him tick.
The film's conceit is that Ramsey plays both parts of the interview: he is the host and the guest, questioning himself as the story travels through his mind and unpacks how he preserves his mindset and everything that makes him great.
The self-interview is framed against the noise it replaces: three men, dapperly dressed in Gucci, listen on the radio to the chaotic soup of news reports. D&AD carries the work in its awards archive under Direction; the page records no viewing figures, so what is documented is the inversion — the athlete controlling both sides of the conversation.
Why it lands
- Interviewing himself lets Ramsey set the questions as well as the answers, so the story is framed entirely on his terms.
- Playing host and guest in one body makes the film visually interesting in a way a standard sit-down interview never is.
- The Gucci-clad trio listening to news radio dramatizes the media noise Ramsey is bypassing, giving the concept a clear contrast.
- It turns a star profile into a character study, trading press-conference clichés for an internal journey.
What it did
By scripting his own questions, Ramsey framed his story on his own terms, and the self-interview became the format that carried his answers. D&AD carries the work in its awards archive under Direction; the page records no view counts, so the documented outcome is the concept itself.
What you can take
When the media owns the questions, own the format: letting the subject interview himself turns narrative control into the creative idea rather than a publicity stunt.
Since then
The film entered the D&AD awards archive under Direction as an example of narrative control through format. The page records no viewing numbers, so what endures is the device: an athlete who interviews himself, turning the press's usual power — choosing the questions — into the creative core of the piece.
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