Let's hear it for the Nobodies

I have one thing and one thing only to say about the Super Bowl advertising because I’ve heard and talked and read enough about it.

Bravo to the nobodies from nowhere, the unemployed Herbert brothers from Batesville, Ohio, who bested the behemoths of advertising to capture the coveted top prize in the USA Today Ad Meter. Bob Lachky may jokingly say that he wants a recount, but with Bud’s streak being broken at 10, you know he’s not a happy guy. Same with the bosses at Pepsi who expected to come out on top and be showered with all of the bonus PR.

And their agencies aren't feeling too hot either.

For good measure, let’s watch again, and enjoy the never-gets-old comedic power of a crystal ball in the nuts. Watch and learn, ad guys. Watch and learn.

This is Bigger than the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl pre-game adverganza is in full swing. I’m fairly unimpressed with this set of ads (although both the dude in the speedo picking his nails and “I’m good” made me laugh), not to mention just a bit bored with all of the early hype. It all acts as a bit of a buzzkill for Sunday and makes me less interested in joining the horde writing about them.

I'm going to write about the world's biggest Slurpee instead.

In my mind, the Slurpee is one of the great American icons. I would put it up there with Super Rope and Smarties and Razzles and all of the great candy and munchies with fun names that have been around forever. Things that aren’t exactly food but are incredibly satisfying.

Thinking of Slurpees conjures up images of riding bikes to 7-11 on hot days after baseball games. Kids have been doing it for decades and still are. What’s better than a Coke Slurpee on a 90˚ day with the hopes of getting a brain freeze?

Slurpee has always done interesting ads—crazy, even—so it’s no surprise to see them doing something fun and different. What is surprising is to see it in Australia. They love it down there. They should. It's brilliant marketing because people are talking about it around the world and it's impossible not to know who it's for. Those Aussies do Slurpees proud. A lot more buzz than what most of the Super Bowl ads will get, and a lot less expensive than $3 million.

Hail Slurpee.

The hype before the hype

The Super Bowl advertising hype is ramping up. Not only will brands be duking it out for the best ads on the game telecast, they’re going head to head before the game even starts to get the early buzz. It’s kind of like the red carpet on steroids.

My favorite clash of the titans is between Pepsi and Coke. As always, they’re looking for an edge vs the other, and the delicious irony is that without knowing it, they’ve spent the past several months developing new campaigns that are mirror images of each other, featuring relentless optimism and unbridled happiness. It almost feels like there are sliding doors between the two agencies and the same creatives are going back and forth doing all the work.

Both sides are claiming they were first, but I’d file this one in the there-are-only-seven-original-ideas-in-the-whole-world department, especially in this year of Hope.

There are the usual differences; like last year’s Charlie Brown spot, Coke goes the way of warm and “ohh…nice…”

And like Pepsi Max’s bobbing heads spot from the past, they go the slapstick route again.

Both fun, with many more memorable ads to come. This one won’t be among them.

I know it's for PETA, but it might be a way to get a whole generation of boys to eat their vegetables...

Quick.

I would be remiss if I had anything more to say about Miller’s new campaign than this:

Brilliant.

Why is this athlete smiling?

Sometimes you can use sports to sell stuff that has nothing to do with sports. Best example is probably the Super Bowl, but here's another. A wonderful campaign from Kuala Lumpur for a fabric softener.

No words, but do you get it? Of course you do. Tough guys unable to prevent themselves from hugging someone they should be pummeling because the should-be foe's uniform was washed in Softlan Eltra.

Another ad in the campaign is just as fun. Well done, Y&R Kuala Lumpur. Could you come over here and teach the GoDaddy and Sales Genie folks a few things?

Shouldn't they shower first?

Sports Marketing guru Terry Lefton reports in Sports Business Journal that the winning players in Super Bowl XLIII will be able to drape themselves in the first ever official Super Bowl Bath Towel on the field after the game. It’s a high-quality, nine-pound towel (I’m assuming that means dry).

In Lefton’s article, McArthur Towel and Sports President Gregg McArthur says, “[The towel] has always been a great vehicle in sports...anyone at Gatorade could tell you that. We’re taking the next step by turning them into an authentic championship item.”

Except that the Gatorade towel had a reason for being. Athletes sweat, towels soak up.

That said, I’m all for finding new revenue streams; the exposure at the Super Bowl is just about priceless, and I applaud all parties involved for being innovative and forward thinking.

In fact, more marketers should embrace the potential for getting their brands out there on the biggest and brightest stage in the world.

I’d like to see Burger King sponsor Championship paper crowns instead of the same old baseball hats. They

SPAM could be the official post game snack.

And just once, I’d like to see the game’s MVP, when asked where he’s going now that he’s won the Biggest Game on Earth, say: “Vegas, baby!”

Got any other ideas for official post game celebratory items?

The NFL, the economy, and the wonderful ridiculousness of Sports

While this posting may seem to contradict my last, it doesn’t. Because in sports, as in real life, absurdity is rampant. This is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt when an expansion team makes it to the World Series after ten years while a wonderfully storied team waits ten times as long. But I digress.

The economy’s bad, right? Markets are down, the government’s going socialist, and we’re all pretty much doomed financially. Tell that to the 66,000 apparently flush souls who’ll be in attendance at Super Bowl XLIII. According to the LA Times, Super Bowl tickets for the first time "will have a four-figure face value -- $1,000 for a single seat to Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond James Stadium" in Tampa, Florida.

That’s right. Face value tickets going for a cool grand, and this isn’t even the Granddaddy of them all. This is that game that’s painfully long and usually lopsided.

Sorry if I don’t get it. I’ve been to the Super Bowl. Yes, it’s awesome. But most of the awesomeness comes in the days before the game. Concerts, parties, the hospitality…that IS the show. The game is pretty anticlimactic.

But at the same time, the game is also a Wonder. It’s a Bucket Lister. It’s quite possibly the single biggest annual event in our country. According to The LA Times, “the average cost of tickets to last season's Super Bowl was more than $4,000 in the secondary markets.” You can buy a Super Bowl RING for four thousand dollars.

So economy be damned. And this year will be no different. In fact, this year, prices will be higher, due solely to one man. No, not Manning or Portis or Ware.

Springsteen.

Preamble

Since 2000, 16 of the top 20 prime time network telecasts have been sporting events, dominated by the Super Bowl, of course, with some Olympics thrown in. A couple of Academy Awards snuck in, which is fine by me, because I love the movies (my favorites being Bull Durham and Jerry Maguire). As you might expect, the Super Bowl dominates the list, and even with some pretty good games over the past several years, the highlights of the game for most folks come during the commercial breaks.

So we like sports, and we like advertising (both can also be very profitable, which a lot of people like, too), and we love talking about both.

Duh.

I’ll spend no more time pointing out the obvious. A first posting has to have some kind of setup, right? Let’s move on.

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to combine my professional loves, sports and making film, into a career. I made Gatorade commercials for 15 years, so I know a little about sports and advertising, but I also know that there’s seldom one right answer when it comes to this stuff. But it sure is fun to talk about. Hence, the need for sportstalk radio.

I have a burning desire to be involved with sports however and whenever possible: playing, talking, writing about, watching, listening (although I do draw the line at calling in to sportstalk radio). So a blog on sports and advertising seemed like a good idea.

And away we go.