Hasta La Creative!

MMB teamed up with production company Aggressive for a new holiday campaign for Subway employing a mix of methods in three different spots.

The animated 30-second “Winter Wonderland,” introduces Subway’s holiday “Customer Appreciation” event, which sees the fast food sandwich chain offering two of its most longstanding offerings — the meatball marinara and coldcut combo — for a reduced price. “Winter Wonderland” keeps the holiday vibe low-key, with the music and background animation celebrating the season in general rather than a specific winter holiday in particular. Two 15-second spots take a similarly laid-back approach, but swap out the animation for live action spots with appearances by NFL stars Justin Tuck and Robert Griffin III in “Famous Fans” and the brand’s longtime spokesman in “Jared.” There’s nothing particularly memorable here, as MMB and Aggressive seem to rely on the deal speaking to fans of the brand without any unnecessary bells and whistles. (more…)

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If the NFL is a dictatorship (in addition to being a comparative kleptocracy), then “RGIII: The Will to Win” looks like the league’s latest piece of propaganda. This movie is the sort of self-serving piece of content that is more of a long commercial with some candid footage than an actual documentary. And my feelings on this have almost nothing to do with Robert Griffin III, his knee rehabilitation, my love of the New York Giants, or TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, the agency that worked on five respectable spots advertising the ESPN “doc.”

The above ad offers a quick and quintessentially underdog take on a comeback story that isn’t really a comeback story, since as RGIII puts it: “how can you come back if you were never gone?” The line is so perfect, it’s almost like someone wrote it for him…There’s nothing wrong with promoting whatever this piece of content is, but there is something wrong with Gatorade, ESPN, and the NFL all taking part in something that would be more interesting without their intrusions. RGIII news has gone from creation myth to creation scripture, written by Roger Goodell and network executives. It’s too disingenuous for its own good, but most of us will end up watching it anyway.

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Image from Nbcsports.com

The NFL Scouting Combine is a lot like speed dating—appearances trump substance. Executives make snap judgments about prospects. Players are valued by physical measurements and statistics. The fastest football players are like the most attractive girls at a bar waiting to be picked up by rich suitors who will drop them without hesitation the moment they find a more attractive—or faster—replacement. When it comes to the NFL, the corporations have all the power. Not just the league and teams, but the sponsors as well.

Accepting these truths about NFL business makes adidas’s promise to sign the prospect with the best 40-yard dash time to an endorsement deal smell like a desperate grab for headlines. The news, first reported by Darren Rovell at ESPN.com, seems particularly strange considering NFL players aren’t allowed to wear adidas gear during games; rules only permit Nike and Under Armour apparel. Would sponsoring the fastest player help adidas slice into the NFL money pie? Probably not, even if that player was good. The fact that the contest is predetermined for a single skill rather than an overall body of work is dumbfounding, since speed does not guarantee ability.

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