When it comes to sports brand icons and their TV commercials, more often than not, I’m impressed by Nike, perplexed by Gatorade, and fascinated by Adidas.
While Nike continues to blast down the road of consistently strategic and surprising work, and Gatorade rambles along a twisty turny highway in search of the Holy Grail of millenial connection, Adidas keeps crossing the street and trying different routes.
They tell the story of Adi Dassler, the founder of Adidas, and the true origins of the company, to stake a claim as an authentic original. And they do it via a 3 minute film. In claymation.
And they make a House Party spot with David Beckham, Missy Elliott, and other funky friends, to celebrate 60 years of Adidas originals.
Adidas does a lot of really interesting, entertaining work. I usually like it quite a bit. Case in point: Two new shoe ads featuring Derrick Rose (he of the phantom SAT test)…
…and Dwight Howard (he of the perhaps-overthrowing King James tonight)…
They look and sound different, which is good (voiced by Chali 2na from Jurassic 5). And they do a pretty clever thing: They talk about the power and efficacy of the clothes and shoes in the context of the power and efficacy of the athlete. I thought this was a smart way to surround the info they so desperately want to convey.
So in terms of breaking through the insanely crowded communications clutter, I’d say they’re successful.
But they’re not as strong as the new Nike work.
For me, the Adidas work doesn’t resonate as much as the new Nike puppets with Kobe and LeBron, for a simple reason: Even the most sports-astute marketers often forget how great it is to just watch amazing athletes do amazing things. It's why I love this spot so much.
You get humor, you get personality, and you get authenticity. While Adidas has cool technique, Nike 180’s that and goes anti-cool; you can’t get much more low tech than felt puppets.
I’m not saying the Adidas work isn’t good. It’s pretty darn cool. It just doesn’t feel as spot-on authentic as the Nike work. Am I wrong? Am I too Old School? Am I on the Nike payroll?
Maybe, probably, and definitely not. But you tell me.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
It's a good time for the great ads of McDonald's
It’s not often that we at Sportscentric step away from sports. And never before have we left the fields of play to enter a fast food emporium. But two wonderful new films from McDonald’s have forced us into their waiting arms.
Did somebody say McDonald’s?
Sorry.
But yes, it’s McDonald’s with two new pieces of human communication that tickle your fancy and just plain made you smile and feel good. Isn’t that what McDonald’s is supposed to do?
Waitasec. On second thought, we can talk about McDonald’s and sports. They joined together in one of the most famous TV commercials in history.
First of all, MICHAEL: WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!?!
Sorry. Lost myself for a second there in the dizzying array of colors in MJ's shortpantsuit.
It’s classic McD's advertising. Just kind of makes you smile and feel a warm fuzziness for the brand. Kind of like this new interactive billboard in London's Picadilly Square.
It’s whimsical, surprising, and engaging. I watched it a couple of times. I could've watched it more. I'm sure many people will.
And while the London billboard is the future of marketing, there’s always room for a good ole TV commercial. Especially silly ones that just make you giggle.
This work is good for people from 5 to 50. I first saw the fish spot over my son’s shoulder on his computer. It does what great McDonald’s advertising—and in this day and age, what any great advertising should do:
Connect people of any race creed shape age or gender to their product. When it comes to the work McD’s is doing, they’re hitting nothing but net.
And PS, I'll pay 100 bucks for MJ's shortpantsuit.
Did somebody say McDonald’s?
Sorry.
But yes, it’s McDonald’s with two new pieces of human communication that tickle your fancy and just plain made you smile and feel good. Isn’t that what McDonald’s is supposed to do?
Waitasec. On second thought, we can talk about McDonald’s and sports. They joined together in one of the most famous TV commercials in history.
First of all, MICHAEL: WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!?!
Sorry. Lost myself for a second there in the dizzying array of colors in MJ's shortpantsuit.
It’s classic McD's advertising. Just kind of makes you smile and feel a warm fuzziness for the brand. Kind of like this new interactive billboard in London's Picadilly Square.
It’s whimsical, surprising, and engaging. I watched it a couple of times. I could've watched it more. I'm sure many people will.
And while the London billboard is the future of marketing, there’s always room for a good ole TV commercial. Especially silly ones that just make you giggle.
This work is good for people from 5 to 50. I first saw the fish spot over my son’s shoulder on his computer. It does what great McDonald’s advertising—and in this day and age, what any great advertising should do:
Connect people of any race creed shape age or gender to their product. When it comes to the work McD’s is doing, they’re hitting nothing but net.
And PS, I'll pay 100 bucks for MJ's shortpantsuit.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
A meandering continuum
Of Kobe, LeBron, Willie Tyler and Lester, $20 Chinese food, and the great Circle of Life in sports and marketing.
Let’s start in the present.
Apparently, Nike is assuming that the Laker and the Cavs are going to meet in the NBA finals. At least that was their best guess when they made this spot, which had to have been produced before the playoffs began (and before the Rockets took LA to tomorrow’s Game 7).
I am highly amused by this premise: LeBron and Kobe are roommates. Kobe is the Rat Pack-like elder statesman, wearing shades and sweater right out of Ocean’s 11 (the original). LeBron is the kid playing video games with the hip hop styling. Love the puppet representations, love the apartment in which they live. This all makes sense, because Kobe has won three titles over a long career and LeBron is still looking for his first.
Fun stuff.
I also love the voices. It was amazing to see how many people beefed about not getting the real voices, including Darren Rovell’s SportsBiz blog. I say it’s much funnier with the actors who do the VO—I’m sure the scripts were great but you can hear the improvisation. Plus, puppet mouths don’t match real words, so they can say just about anything they want. Rumor has it David Allan Grier and Kenan Thompson were Kobe and LeBron, but that’s not confirmed.
But I digress.
Watching this ad, I was immediately reminded of the great Lil Penny ads Nike did at the height of Anfernee (Penny) Hardaway’s fame in the mid-‘90’s.
Yes, that’s Chris Rock as Lil Penny. And yes, he is very very funny. Too bad Big Penny’s knees crapped out on him. He could’ve been one of the greats. His ads were great and part of it was due to his understated comedic performance. Not easy being straight man to a puppet.
Unless you’re Willie Tyler and you’ve got Lester on your lap.
But again, I digress.
Penny Hardaway was a terrific basketball player. All-Star games, NBA Finals alongside Shaq for the Magic, Olympic Gold Medal…if he could have avoided injury, he could’ve been a legend…much like, say, LeBron.
Too much of a stretch? Maybe. But at a time when Michael was playing baseball and just returning to basketball, Penny filled a superstar void.
In addition to his basketball skills, he was good in front of the camera, as evidenced by the Lil Penny ads. Who knows how high his star could have risen? In fact, he could’ve been making commercials like this.
One of my favorite spots of the past several years. The music, the magic, the hero and the real people, all coming together. LeBron’s signature, iconic move. It’ll go down as an all-time Nike classic. It’s already spawned dozens of Youtube parodies. And enabled Nike to parody itself.
Ah, so we’re full circle on our meandering continuum. I like this spot even better than the “Three Rings” spot above (although it did seem like it could have been a :30 or at most a :45). What the hell does “$20 Chinese food!” mean? I don’t know, but it’s funny.
So there you have it. Proof that everything that goes around comes around. And if nothing else, you found out that Willie Tyler and Lester are still ventriloquizing, online! Who knew?
Let’s start in the present.
Apparently, Nike is assuming that the Laker and the Cavs are going to meet in the NBA finals. At least that was their best guess when they made this spot, which had to have been produced before the playoffs began (and before the Rockets took LA to tomorrow’s Game 7).
I am highly amused by this premise: LeBron and Kobe are roommates. Kobe is the Rat Pack-like elder statesman, wearing shades and sweater right out of Ocean’s 11 (the original). LeBron is the kid playing video games with the hip hop styling. Love the puppet representations, love the apartment in which they live. This all makes sense, because Kobe has won three titles over a long career and LeBron is still looking for his first.
Fun stuff.
I also love the voices. It was amazing to see how many people beefed about not getting the real voices, including Darren Rovell’s SportsBiz blog. I say it’s much funnier with the actors who do the VO—I’m sure the scripts were great but you can hear the improvisation. Plus, puppet mouths don’t match real words, so they can say just about anything they want. Rumor has it David Allan Grier and Kenan Thompson were Kobe and LeBron, but that’s not confirmed.
But I digress.
Watching this ad, I was immediately reminded of the great Lil Penny ads Nike did at the height of Anfernee (Penny) Hardaway’s fame in the mid-‘90’s.
Yes, that’s Chris Rock as Lil Penny. And yes, he is very very funny. Too bad Big Penny’s knees crapped out on him. He could’ve been one of the greats. His ads were great and part of it was due to his understated comedic performance. Not easy being straight man to a puppet.
Unless you’re Willie Tyler and you’ve got Lester on your lap.
But again, I digress.
Penny Hardaway was a terrific basketball player. All-Star games, NBA Finals alongside Shaq for the Magic, Olympic Gold Medal…if he could have avoided injury, he could’ve been a legend…much like, say, LeBron.
Too much of a stretch? Maybe. But at a time when Michael was playing baseball and just returning to basketball, Penny filled a superstar void.
In addition to his basketball skills, he was good in front of the camera, as evidenced by the Lil Penny ads. Who knows how high his star could have risen? In fact, he could’ve been making commercials like this.
One of my favorite spots of the past several years. The music, the magic, the hero and the real people, all coming together. LeBron’s signature, iconic move. It’ll go down as an all-time Nike classic. It’s already spawned dozens of Youtube parodies. And enabled Nike to parody itself.
Ah, so we’re full circle on our meandering continuum. I like this spot even better than the “Three Rings” spot above (although it did seem like it could have been a :30 or at most a :45). What the hell does “$20 Chinese food!” mean? I don’t know, but it’s funny.
So there you have it. Proof that everything that goes around comes around. And if nothing else, you found out that Willie Tyler and Lester are still ventriloquizing, online! Who knew?
Friday, May 8, 2009
The best sports campaign. Possibly ever.
Anybody feel like laughing? Go here. Check the continuous playback button, and enjoy.
Thank goodness for This is Sportcenter. Arguably the best, longest running campaign on TV.
Thank you for mascots in the bathroom, gymnasts cartwheeling through cubicles, and 7’7” basketball players trying to dance to hip hop.
Thank you for getting to the heart of what a brand should do: connect to their target in a memorable, ownable way.
Thank you for getting to the essence of great advertising: finding an insight and bringing it to life in an unexpected way.
Thank you for selling us your product in a way that we can’t help but love it. The product, of course, being the anchors, who portray themselves as funny and human and silly and just gosh darn likeable. People who we’d want in our living rooms every night.
After fifteen years and hundreds of spots, the campaign is still not stale. In fact, it's fresher than ever. I felt compelled to write about the campaign when I saw this spot on TV.
And thank you for this one, from 1997. One of my favorites:
As long as there’s sports, there’s fodder. And with annoying sports news like Manny getting busted, Brett dangling his arm in front of the NFL, and LeBron sauntering to his official coronation, I’ll say it again:
Thank goodness there’s This is Sportscenter.
I find it especially useful in October when the Cubs do their thing, and I really need something to laugh at.
Thank goodness for This is Sportcenter. Arguably the best, longest running campaign on TV.
Thank you for mascots in the bathroom, gymnasts cartwheeling through cubicles, and 7’7” basketball players trying to dance to hip hop.
Thank you for getting to the heart of what a brand should do: connect to their target in a memorable, ownable way.
Thank you for getting to the essence of great advertising: finding an insight and bringing it to life in an unexpected way.
Thank you for selling us your product in a way that we can’t help but love it. The product, of course, being the anchors, who portray themselves as funny and human and silly and just gosh darn likeable. People who we’d want in our living rooms every night.
After fifteen years and hundreds of spots, the campaign is still not stale. In fact, it's fresher than ever. I felt compelled to write about the campaign when I saw this spot on TV.
And thank you for this one, from 1997. One of my favorites:
As long as there’s sports, there’s fodder. And with annoying sports news like Manny getting busted, Brett dangling his arm in front of the NFL, and LeBron sauntering to his official coronation, I’ll say it again:
Thank goodness there’s This is Sportscenter.
I find it especially useful in October when the Cubs do their thing, and I really need something to laugh at.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
One wild and crazy brand!
I have to admire this commercial, for no better reason than I get to say “nipple tassles” and “Australian Open Champion” in the same sentence.
But let’s back up.
Novak Djokovic is the #3 ranked men’s player in the world. He climbed his way up to the pinnacle playing with Wilson rackets. And for some reason, once there, he decided to switch to a Head racket.
In his first tournament with the Head frame, Novak lost in the first round to Latvian Ernests Gulbis. Now, I may not follow tennis as closely as Bud Collins does, but I’ve never heard of Mr. Gulbis, and I’m a little suspicious of someone who feels like he needs to turn his first name into a plural noun.
So now Novak is losing matches, and he’s getting questioned about his racket switch by other players. You would think he might say, “Ooops. Maybe switching rackets wasn’t such a good idea. My bad.” And he would go back to Wilson, begging to get the same guys making him rackets as when he ruled. That would've been smart, right?
But no. He goes the exact opposite way, and decides to try to get Head tennis a little more recognition by appearing in a commercial. It’s a commercial made by people who like telling a really long joke with odd twists and turns along the way that's enjoyable for a while, and then seems to climax, but then snakes and curves a bit more and eventually ends with a punchline that makes you wish you’d tweezed your eyebrows instead.
The commercial, while long, is odd and surprising and for that, I give credit to Head. They got 2008 Australian Open Champion Novak Djokovic to wear nipple tassles and twirl them around to impress a girl.
Good for you, Novak, to have some fun and make people laugh. Tennis needs that, especially men's tennis. I still think you should reconsider your switch. But if you insist on staying with Head, tell them to make you a racket that not only helps you get the girl, but win some matches, too.
But let’s back up.
Novak Djokovic is the #3 ranked men’s player in the world. He climbed his way up to the pinnacle playing with Wilson rackets. And for some reason, once there, he decided to switch to a Head racket.
In his first tournament with the Head frame, Novak lost in the first round to Latvian Ernests Gulbis. Now, I may not follow tennis as closely as Bud Collins does, but I’ve never heard of Mr. Gulbis, and I’m a little suspicious of someone who feels like he needs to turn his first name into a plural noun.
So now Novak is losing matches, and he’s getting questioned about his racket switch by other players. You would think he might say, “Ooops. Maybe switching rackets wasn’t such a good idea. My bad.” And he would go back to Wilson, begging to get the same guys making him rackets as when he ruled. That would've been smart, right?
But no. He goes the exact opposite way, and decides to try to get Head tennis a little more recognition by appearing in a commercial. It’s a commercial made by people who like telling a really long joke with odd twists and turns along the way that's enjoyable for a while, and then seems to climax, but then snakes and curves a bit more and eventually ends with a punchline that makes you wish you’d tweezed your eyebrows instead.
The commercial, while long, is odd and surprising and for that, I give credit to Head. They got 2008 Australian Open Champion Novak Djokovic to wear nipple tassles and twirl them around to impress a girl.
Good for you, Novak, to have some fun and make people laugh. Tennis needs that, especially men's tennis. I still think you should reconsider your switch. But if you insist on staying with Head, tell them to make you a racket that not only helps you get the girl, but win some matches, too.
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