L.L.Bean has found a new way to fold Drake Maye into New England life: by making him and Ann Michael Maye the stars of a sitcom-style ad that plays like a workplace comedy with a football twist.
The New England Patriots quarterback and his wife appear in the retailer’s latest campaign as its newest “teammates,” a spot that leans hard into reality-TV confessionals and “The Office”-style deadpan humor while putting the couple in L.L.Bean gear. The ad dropped Wednesday on the company’s social media accounts and quickly picked up steam, drawing more than 290,000 views and more than 18,000 likes on Instagram by Wednesday afternoon.
The campaign is tied to a “new multi-year partnership” between L.L. Bean and the Mayes, according to a news release distributed via PR Newswire, though the company did not say how long the deal will last.
The spot opens with Drake Maye in a director’s chair, dressed in a green flannel and brown pants, talking straight to the camera. “I mean, being a quarterback is nice and all, but you know what I really love?
Flannel.” From there, store manager Will Stratton steps in to introduce the couple as the store’s new additions.
Drake and Ann Michael rise from lawn chairs, hug, and congratulate each other before Drake walks up to Stratton holding a brown jersey with “Maye” on the back.
When he asks, “What do you guys think?” Stratton fires back in a flat, sitdown-interview tone: “I have no idea where you got that.” Drake just smiles and says he brought it from home.
The ad keeps rolling with more playful bits. A wall of employee-of-the-month plaques all feature Drake’s grin.
Then a customer approaches Ann Michael at an embroidery station and asks her to stitch Maye-themed football references onto tote bags, including “QB1,” “Number 10,” and “MVP.” She gives only a smirk and answers, “coming soon.”
Later, the non-Maye employees huddle up over a closing-time problem. “All right, huddle up.
We’re a minute from closing. A customer needs size seven slippers.
The last pair is in the back,” Stratton says. Another employee replies, “It’s a long way for footwear.”
The line echoes dramatically before Drake, backlit and silhouetted, bursts from the back of the store like he’s running out onto the field.
He arrives with a moccasin in hand and says, “I’ve got this,” before a POV shot shows the shoe spinning through the air like a football. Ann Michael catches it cleanly, slips it onto the customer’s foot and flashes a thumbs up.
The final exchange keeps the joke going, with the Mayes batting around who deserves employee of the month. “I think she’ll be employee of the month,” Drake says.
“Nah, I think you’ll be employee of the month,” Ann Michael replies. After a little back and forth, she scoffs when Drake says it’ll be “Probably me.”
L.L.Bean president and CEO Greg Elder said in the release, “As Drake and Ann Michael build their life in New England, we’re proud to welcome them to the L.L.Bean family and help them feel at home. Their love of the outdoors and commitment to family make them natural partners for L.L.Bean, and we’re excited for what’s ahead,”
The release says the Mayes are originally from North Carolina and are “putting down roots” in New England as Drake heads into his third season with the Patriots.
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