Hasta La Creative!

ESPN’s latest W+K New York-created spot for SportsCenter is a bit of a departure from their usual advertising style. In the 1:01 spot, ESPN spotlights their trade mark “da da da” (you’ll know it when you hear it) spoken by a wide range of athletes (such as Maria Sharapova, Bubba Watson, RG III, Clayton Kershaw and Patrick Kane) in different situations.

Not centered around a comic premise, “DaDaDa DaDaDa” lets the highlights from many different sports, including ones you don’t care about (lacrosse, anyone?), do the talking for a majority of the spot — perhaps not a bad strategy (except for the lacrosse), considering that is why most people tune in to SportsCenter.

“Da Da Da” is also a departure in that it’s the first ESPN commercial in ten years to be shown on other networks, such as during NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Presumably a response to SportsCenter’s declining audience — and perhaps a reaction to new competitor Fox Sports 1 — the spot attempts to bring in new viewers by running on DirectTV, Adult Swim, Spike and Comedy Central. Whether or not the expensive spot can help SportsCenter fight the declining viewership brought on by the increased ease of finding sports highlights online remains to be seen. But lacrosse players everywhere are cheering. Credits after the jump.

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Michael Bolton also told me to tell you that, hey, you’re not the only one enraptured with the pop crooner due to his handsome face and sweet, sultry voice. Michael Bolton’s not going to just drop everything and dedicate his entire day to a phone conversation with you. Why would he? He’s rich, single, and famous. Michael Bolton has more important things to do than talk to one of his many fans about their boring lives. Just, don’t call him, okay? Seriously, back off. Consider this a fair warning.

From Mother NY comes a new campaign for Optimum, the phone, Internet and cable provider that changed their logo last year but reminded you that they weren’t in the logo business because they think you’re stupid. This time around, they’re asking you to call them. Not Michael Bolton. Get it? Because dialing the phone is hard. They think you’ve gotten stupider since your last encounter.

Another new spot from Optimum (above) reminds you that for an optimal TV viewing experience, you should move on your chair or other reclining device in front of the TV. Oh, and I would recommend calling Michael Bolton’s number even though Optimum told you not to. There’s a surprise on the other line. Credits for both spots after the jump.

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