Hasta La Creative!

Advertising and high-profile sports regularly crash into one another at the intersection of Hype and Mammon, a garishly lit crossing where manufactured desire is only sated by obsessive consumption. And so it is fitting that the launch of ESPN’s latest media venture will focus on both of these combustive elements.

On Tuesday, ESPN Audio will raise the curtain on “30 for 30 Podcasts,” a series of one-hour sports/pop culture mashups designed to function as an extension of the network’s acclaimed linear TV doc series. The first installment, “The Trials of Dan and Dave,” zeroes in on the rivalry between would-be Olympians Dan O’Brien and Dave Johnson, who in 1992 became all but ubiquitous thanks to a relentless ad campaign from Chiat/Day and Reebok.

At the heart of the inaugural “30 for 30” episode is the $30 million advertising offensive that blew up in the client’s face after O’Brien failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team and a shot at taking the gold in Barcelona. After kicking off in front of the 79.6 million fans who tuned in for CBS’ coverage of Super Bowl XXVI — in a bid to build up interest over the course of the broadcast, Chiat/Day ponied up some $1.7 million to run four 15-second spots that aired at generous intervals — the Reebok campaign went off the rails four months later, when O’Brien’s failure to clear the pole vault scuttled the “Dan and Dave” narrative.

Continue reading at AdAge.com