Topps is revisiting a sports “what-if” with the help of AI and a heavy dose of nostalgia. In its latest Bowman Draft campaign, the trading card brand reimagines a young Dan Marino—who was actually drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1979—in a parallel ad-world where he’s more than a football great. In an alternate reality 90-second spot, Marino morphs into a two-sport megastar à la Bo Jackson, complete with boardroom pitches, over-the-top endorsements, and a retro-chic catchphrase: “Mari-Knows.”
Using AI-generated visuals, the campaign places Marino in an absurd spectrum of ad scenarios—think football, baseball, and also falconry and tire sales—playing off the omnipresent Bo Jackson campaigns of the late ’80s. It all builds to a shot-by-shot homage to the famous black-and-white “Bo Knows” Nike pose, but with Marino in gridiron gear and a baseball bat. The spot ends with a tongue-in-cheek snap back to reality, as today’s Marino wakes up poolside next to a Royals baseball card minted from this very imaginary career.
This marks the third entry in Topps’ surreal Bowman Draft series redefining NFL legends as MLB “what-could-have-beens”—following stints with Tom Brady and John Elway. Marino’s fantasy cards come with collector bait: variants featuring lines like “Mari-knows baseball,” “Laces out,” and “There is no defense against my perfect swing.” For a campaign built around nostalgia, AI trickery, and pop-culture callbacks, Topps shows there’s still plenty of runway in remixing retro sports icons for modern collectors.
Read more at Campaign.