The new Kobe system commercials are brilliant. They feature flashes of comedy, a sweet new shoe, celebrities of all kinds, and of course, Kobe Bryant. Who wouldn’t want to watch that?
The best thing an athlete can do to bolster their image these days is put out a well-done ad. Commercials are watched by everyone— sports fans and recreational watchers alike. If you put out a successful ad, you will stretch your appeal to those who may have never even heard of you before.
However, the commercial must be well done. Otherwise, it comes off as an obvious quick cash fix for the athlete. Take, for example, Eli Manning and his Tag Heuer campaign. The commercials and magazine ads consist of him more or less in an awkward sequence of just tossing spirals. Very little effort put into that one.
Reggie Bush’s Pizza Hut ad was nothing short of awful. It was overdone and phony to the point where I feel uncomfortable watching it. I almost dropped him from my fantasy team.
Michael Strahan’s Subway commercials made me want to go eat Quiznos.
Michael Jordan’s Hanes ads would be a disaster if it weren’t for his co-star’s, bacon-neck spotting theatrics. I especially dislike the ones with Charlie Sheen.
Aaron Rodgers’ State Farm promotions annoy me. B.J. Raji was spot on, though.
The point is, these bad ads make me like the athlete less. Not substantially less, but still, less. I feel that they owe more than a cheesy, in-your-face skit. I don’t want to feel like the athlete is selling me anything. I want the greatness on the screen to correspond with their greatness on the field.
Kobe’s new ad completes me. First of all, it’s for the sexiest company on earth, Nike. Secondly, it brings other super-cool athletes into the mix like Landon Donovan and Larry Fitzgerald. It even includes hip-hop culture with Kanye West. The ad also dips into Hollywood with funny-man Aziz Ansari. Overall grade: A.
Blake Griffin’s new Kia ad campaign gets me every time. The ads aren’t over the top at all, and they are so subtly bizarre that I can’t help but laugh.
Ray Lewis’ Old Spice commercials had nothing subtle about them. But they were next-level manly and outright ridiculous. Very funny.
Peyton Manning is the king of all athlete commercial actors. He’s done plenty, and they never seem to fail. Who knew he was so hilarious?
Bottom line, athletes: you have to rock your ads. I don’t even really care what you are selling me, I just want you to remain my entertainment, even when you are out of your jersey. And although they don’t have to be funny (Derek Rose has done some cool ones), I would prefer them to be. Believe it or not, these ads can actually sway my opinion towards you, so take pride in your work, and smile for the cameras.
