With the possible exception of Super Bowl Sunday, the time allotted for television commercials during a sporting event is usually a cue to abandon that comfortable spot on the couch to handle other things. Take out the garbage, a trip to the refrigerator or restroom — anything to avoid having to endure another invitation to more indebtedness.
Those of us who opt to tough out the onslaught of potentially mind-altering sales pitches (or remain within earshot of the television by accident) have already figured one of the main tenets of marketing: effective frequency gets the customer’s attention. Companies like Geico Insurance certainly adhere to this principle, hoping to give its brand permanent residence in the consciousness of as many folks as possible — by not allowing you to forget them . There are several advertisers who are undoubtedly getting their money’s worth from repeat messaging during sporting events –basketball in particular — and we’ve memorized these commericals without even trying.
“I, I WILL BE KING…”
This is the Heineken commercial where Nicole Atkins singing “Heroes” serves as the backdrop to some footage of former Formula 1 driver Jackie Stewart (mutton chops and all) winning a race and celebrating by turning down the very product being hawked. This morphs into a “When You Drive, Never Drink” message (perhaps it should be the other way around) with a contemporary Stewart turning down a drink before getting into his car and driving off.
This song pops into my head whenever it feels like it. And probably yours, too.
“I’M ALL THE WAY UP, I’M ALL THE WAY UP…”
Mountain Dew commercial with some shorts-wearin’ racecar driver introduced as the replacement for the legendary Dale Earnhardt. Not sure I’ve ever seen this commercial in its entirety, but you’re guaranteed to hear the Fat Joe excerpt several times daily if you leave your television on in the background for most of the day.
Not sure which product benefits more from the bombardment — the song or Mountain Dew.
“AIN’T NUTHIN’ BUT A HEARTACHE…”
By now we’ve all suffered the heartache of watching the State Farm commercial where Trevor Ariza and Chris Paul team up to destroy a perfectly nice song, as we’ve all done, and it only takes Ariza three notes to do it. The reaction of an irritated James Harden in the back seat with Ariza is the best part, though I’m sure many of us wonder if The Beard himself has any singing chops.
New teammates for Chris Paul, out with the old commercial partners like DeAndre Jordan, who lost more than just alley-oop opportunities with Paul’s departure from the Los Angeles Clippers.
“THE ANDERSONS GOT TICKETS TO THE GAME? HOW’D THEY GET TICKETS?”
Father and son sitting on the couch watching a game (with dad actually slouching) while mom makes dinner. Dad gets a text message with a photo from the smiling Andersons, who are at “the game”. Dad goes bonkers with envy, wondering how “they” got tickets while he’s watching the supposedly sold-out game at home. The son, being the brains of the operation, introduces his dad to NBATickets.com where they somehow find available seats in seconds.
The son’s utterance that the “games are never sold out” could lead one to deduce that these folks live in Detroit.
There are others, of course, but next season will feature a fresh batch of oft-repeated commercials to follow us through our residences and beyond — even as we attempt to ignore them.
