EA Sports shares life lessons from Iron Mike

We've seen a kinder, gentler Mike Tyson lately as the former heavyweight champ with fists of steel promotes his Animal Planet series about racing pigeons, Taking on Tyson. In fact, he's said that the first time he ever threw a punch was when a childhood bully offed one of his beloved birds. But it's the powerful, dangerous Tyson that can still mesmerize, and EA Sports obviously capitalizes on that fact with the documentary-style video below, part of the new campaign for Fight Night Champion. To hype the mature-rated game — taglined "brutality builds champions" — San Francisco ad agency Heat and Brooklyn-based media firm Vice launched a six-minute clip of Tyson trotting out some demons, including the "total destruction and surrender" he tried to achieve in the ring. (There are also videos of Joe Frazier, Tommy Morrison and Bernard Hopkins). Tyson also gives a peek into the prison experience, "where life doesn't mean nothing more than a bag of potato chips and a Coke."

Filed under Electronic Arts, Sports, Stanley
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Agency's prime location used to tally tweets

AKQA happens to be situated across the street from San Francisco’s AT&T Park, where the World Series kicked off this week. The agency showed off its hometown pride with a giant projection of, what else, tweets. The W@ll of Fame aggregated Twitter updates with the hashtag #gogiants and projected them onto a building at King and 2nd streets. Pretty nice trick.

Filed under AKQA, Morrissey, Sports
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Favre hangs loose in SNL sexting parody ad

SNL's new fake ad for Wrangler No-Fly jeans demonstrates how certain things are only comfortable for the person wearing them. Especially if they also forsake underpants, as Brett Favre reportedly did when he sexted a much-younger woman with a picture of his junk. We like to think that the real Favre has been playing football long enough to understand what not to leave exposed during a game, but then again, his judgment does seem to be pretty clouded these days. If Favre ever decides to  break his silence on the issue, an ad like this might be a good way to take a burst of late-career publicity and really milk it (figuratively speaking).

Filed under Kiefaber, Parody, SNL, Sports, Wrangler
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Brett Favre can't even decide on a television

Passing for a whopping 4 yards, Brett Favre didn't give fans much to talk about during his Friday debut with the Minnesota Vikings. But if there's one thing that has kept people buzzing, it's the Sears commercial above, which made its own debut this weekend. It's a great example of dry wit and an understated celebrity cameo (i.e., no one yelling "Hey, look, it's veteran quarterback Brett Favre, who agonized for more than a year about whether to return to the NFL!"). The spot gets bonus points for being entertaining while still explaining the benefits of Sears' real-time price-check service. Now I can feel confident that I'm getting the absolute best price on that baby-grilling body-part roaster.

—Posted by David Griner

See also:
Brett Favre: pretty good at advertising, too
Sears not an expert on video-game systems

Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Electronics, Griner, Sears, Sports
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Nike and Wieden pay tribute to '90s hip-hop

Back in the '90s, it seemed like pro athletes were lining up for the chance to put out terrible rap albums. Now, Nike and Wieden + Kennedy revisit those days with four NBA stars who are just as bad on the mike—but at least seem to realize it. "Don't Criticize (Hyperize)" is a bizarre and endearingly subtle parody of '90s hip-hop featuring Rashard "Ice-O" Lewis, Andre "Chief Blocka" Iguodala, Kevin "Velvet Hoop" Durant and the always awesome Mo Williams, who claims one of the best rap pseudonyms ever with "Fog Raw." At first blush, the song is pretty painful, but it's worth a few watches just to catch the endless references to decade-old fads. And for Lewis's top-notch lyric, "If you like staying on the ground, maybe you should wrestle."

—Posted by David Griner

See also:
Nike's in-your-face Hyperdunk ads rejected
Dwight Howard sick of the Kobe/LeBron ads

Filed under Basketball, Griner, Music, Nike, Sports, Wieden + Kennedy
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Play sports as a child, avoid shame later on

Here's an odd little PSA campaign by DDB Vancouver for KidSport BC that encourages children's participation in sports—mostly so they don't become complete social lepers later in life. Of the three commercials, only the swimming-pool spot really pays off the tagline, "Sports skills are life skills." (Knowing how to swim could indeed help you save someone's life.) On the other hand, being able to catch Post-it notes thrown at you by the office hottie seems less crucial to one's general well-roundedness. And getting kids to play sports so they can use sporting clichés in their dead-end corporate jobs later in life—that's just depressing. How about this cliché instead: that sport is good for kids because it gets them off the couch and teaches them to play well with others? Via Osocio.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Canada, DDB, Nudd, PSAs, Sports
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Dwight Howard sick of the Kobe/LeBron ads

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James's new NBA playoff-themed ads for Nike (above) and Vitaminwater (below) have sparked a lot of excitement—particularly from Dwight Howard. But not in a good way. In a post on his blog, the Orlando Magic star says it's "really disrespectful that everybody seems to be pulling for LeBron and Kobe to get to the finals. ... It's like nobody is even giving us a shot at winning this series." He signs off by saying, "Aiiight, ya'll I guess I gotta go watch another one of these LeBron and Kobe commercials on TV. Naw, just kiddin." Dwight's got a point, but he should really pay more attention to where his elbows land than who's in what ad. That's the best way to make sure you're in next year's campaign.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Filed under Basketball, Kiefaber, Nike, Sports, Vitaminwater
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Novak Djokovic irresistible in Head.com ad

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, the world's third-ranked player behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, gets extremely loose in his first major outing for sports brand Head since the equipment and apparel company signed him in January. His nickname's Djoko, with a silent "D," and he's certainly more fun on camera than Federer, whose performance in that '70s-themed Gillette ad with Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter was as wooden as an antique racquet. In the Head spot, there's a cute set-up with Djoko going into the stands mid-point for some over-the-top flirtation with an attractive fan, and still having time to return his opponent's shot. The spot tries a bit too hard to be "outrageous" with nipple tassels and a recreation of a scene from Flashdance. Even so, it's extremely likable, and I didn't regret hanging in for the entire two minutes. If Head ever casts Anna Kournikova in a similar scenario, hopefully they'll keep the tassels.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Head, Sports, Tennis
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Seattle Mariners live up to new ads, for now

With the Seattle Mariners perched atop the standings in the American League West—a phenomenon unlikely to persist for long, if the team's showing last year is any indication—this would be a propitious time to check out the franchise's 2009 TV commercials. Fans have been invited to vote to pick their favorite spot. Ad-agency types might take the opportunity to vote for anything other than the execution in which the "creative force" behind years of Mariners commercials turns out to be a chimp. For baseball fans, it's worth it just to get a glimpse of Jay Buhner's shiny bald head again. As it has done for years (with or without simians), Copacino+Fujikado of Seattle created the campaign.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Filed under Baseball, Copacino+Fujikado, Dolliver, Sports
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No one messes with the Boston Bruins bear

When it comes to casting bears in ad campaigns, Mullen has now gone to both extremes. The National Grid polar bears were pretty benign. The actor in the bear suit who stars in this playoff campaign for the Boston Bruins, however, must've gotten up on the wrong side of the cave. If you don't play by the "Bruins Hockey Rules," you're liable to get roughed up by this furry fanatic. The hairy hothead slaps one fan who tucks in his B's jersey, tackles another who doesn't hang up his phone and watch the game, and humiliates a third (the poor guy's "be-ah" goes flying) because his date wears the colors of the divisional rival Montreal Canadiens. Basically, the ubiquitous ursine behaves just like any Bruins fan from Lynn after a couple of brewskies too many.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Boston Bruins, Gianatasio, Hockey, Mullen, Sports
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March Adness final: State Farm, PlayStation

So, it all comes down to this. AdweekMedia's inaugural March Adness contest, pitting 16 of the best sports commercials against one another in a bracketed tournament, is down to its two finalists: Starm Farm's "Feeling Kinda LeBron" spot, in which LeBron James daydreams about playing for the Cleveland Browns; and PlayStation's "Dustin vs. PS" ad, in which Dustin Pedroia complains to PlayStation's director of game accuracy (played by Jerry Lambert) about his avatar not being able to hit the high-inside fastball in MLB '09: The Show. Vote for your favorite of the two spots on the March Adness site. The winner will be crowned late Friday. I will remain impartial, except to note that Lambert is probably the finest actor of his generation. UPDATE: And PlayStation hits it out of the park.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Jerry Lambert, March Adness, Nudd, Sports
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D.C. United kicks Fairfield hotels up a notch

Pro soccer players kicking a ball around in a place where they shouldn't really be doing so? That's what we find in this amiable video created by Marriott's PR folks to promote its Fairfield Inn & Suites brand. (It kicks off, so to speak, an integrated campaign that agency mcgarrybowen has created around the brand's "Staying is believing" theme.) Ben Olsen and some D.C. United teammates seem to be having fun as they play an impromptu game in a Marriott lobby. The downside, of course, is that there's already a legendary commercial in which big-time soccer players kick a ball around in an unusual venue: the one featuring stars of the Brazilian national team at an airport, on behalf of Nike in 1998. A new video can't help but invite comparison with the earlier one. And with all due respect to Marriott's effort, which is perfectly pleasant, D.C. United against Brazil isn't much of a contest. But the new video does end with a nice flourish as it offers this disclaimer: "We are professional soccer players. Don't even think about trying this inside a Fairfield Inn & Suites." OK, consider it not done.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Filed under Dolliver, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Hospitality, Marriott, Soccer, Sports
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Hoops coaches strip for a 'Guitar Hero' spot

Here's the new Guitar Hero commercial with college-basketball coaching legends Bob Knight, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski yukking it up with Metallica. As Guitar Hero's Risky Business ads go, this one's a distant second to the Heidi Klum spot, though Knight is pretty funny, and Pitino's drumming is amusingly wretched.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Basketball, Celebrity endorsements, Guitar Hero, Music, Nudd, Sports, Video games
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Australian football will kick your sport's ass

There's a long list of pastimes that Americans just can't understand—cricket, Pai Gow, curling, shirling, etc. I've always shrugged off Australian-rules football as yet another bullet on the roster of baffling competitions. But this new ad for the Australian Football League does a pretty good job of explaining the sport. Well, it at least does a good job of explaining how every other sport is downright wussy-like by comparison. You even get to see a back-climbing "specky," which I'm personally excited about trying out in the office this afternoon. Not my problem if you picked the wrong day to reload the hallway printer, buddy.

—Posted by David Griner

Filed under Australia, Griner, Sports
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Golfer Anna Rawson is fourth Go Daddy girl

If nothing else, Go Daddy's press releases are entertaining. The domain registrar today introduced LPGA golfer Anna Rawson as its fourth Go Daddy girl, and wasted no time in talking up her strengths as a spokeswoman. Go Daddy "is known for signing good looking, confident, accomplished women as Go Daddy Girls," says the release. "Anna is certainly no exception. Anna is the only runway model to become a professional golfer. ... She also writes, having her own golf column syndicated in more than 20 countries around the world." Naturally, Go Daddy CEO and founder Bob Parsons personally introduced Rawson at an event in Phoenix. Parsons, says the release, "is known for having an eye for new talent and is very excited about the company's newest Go Daddy Girl. 'Anna is edgy, she's hot, she's outspoken ... I ask you, what's not GoDaddy-esque about that?' " The memo helpfully points out that "GoDaddy-esque is a term coined by the media, meaning fun, edgy and slightly inappropriate." Rawson joins poker player Vanessa Rousso, race-car driver Danica Patrick and model Candice Michelle on the roster of Go Daddy girls.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Go Daddy, Golf, Nudd, Sports
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PlayStation thinks Dustin Pedroia is a hack

There's so much to enjoy in this new "Dustin vs. PlayStation" campaign by Deutsch for the MLB '09: The Show video game. First, it's got Dustin Pedroia, the unlikely American League MVP and just-as-unlikely pitchman, arguing with the makers of the game over how it's been programmed: namely, that his avatar can't hit the high-and-inside fastball. The Red Sox second baseman insists he can indeed hit it, and he wouldn't be polishing his MVP trophy if he couldn't. Even better: His nemesis in the campaign is PlayStation's "director of game accuracy," played by the hilarious dude from the Holiday Inn commercials—the one who tells his buddies to "bring it down a notch" when they're hassling Joe Buck in the hotel bar, and who later falls asleep in the tanning bed. The PlayStation channel on YouTube currently only has these two spots: the "Dustin vs. PlayStation" ad above and the "Joe the Fan" spot below (possibly starring David Gianatasio in the role of Joe). There are a bunch more on the way. Hopefully the Holiday Inn guy will make whale sounds in at least one of them.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Baseball, Deutsch, Jerry Lambert, Nudd, PlayStation, Sports, Video games
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DDB's Sol spots are odd, but in a good way

Most ads that attempt to be weird fail for one of two reasons. Either they're trying too hard and feel forced (like the crappy series with Jack in the Box's round-headed mascot) or they don't go far enough (like Old Navy's SuperModelquins, which are hardly weird at all). When the proper balance is achieved, however, it can be a thing of beauty. Which brings us to Sol beer's campaign from DDB Argentina. See all three ads here. They manage to be weird in an endearing way, appear well targeted to its audience and never overpower the brand. They're weird with you, not at you. They're almost parodies of weird ads, taking the familiar elements that fall flat in other spots and doing them just right. Male bonding over suds and soccer is the general theme. But "Hugs," above, doesn't head where you'd expect, "Pep Talk" really scores on the field. And you'll lap up the stupidity of "Weird." Don't worry, the ads are better than my commentary on them. Hmm, three entertaining spots from DDB. Now that's weird! Via Ads of the World.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Alcohol, DDB, Gianatasio, Soccer, Sol, Sports
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Adidas's NBA stars finally make it to college

Here's a fun idea from Adidas. To celebrate March Madness, it's taking four of its endorsers who jumped straight from high-school basketball to the NBA and imagining them on the college teams of today: Kevin Garnett at UCLA, Dwight Howard at Kansas, Tracy McGrady at Louisville and Josh Smith at Pitt. See all four ads here. It would have been fun to see Kobe Bryant, another college dodger, in this kind of situation, though of course he's ex-Adidas and now shills for Nike. Via American Copywriter.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Adidas, Basketball, NBA, Nudd, Sports
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Bailed-out BofA still enjoys its U.K. football

Americans, here's your tax dollars at work: In the U.K., Liverpool's football team has just signed up Bank of America as a major sponsor. BofA, which has received about $45 billion in U.S. federal rescue money after its acquisition of Merrill Lynch and its toxic assets, is the parent of MBNA, which supplies Liverpool's credit card for supporters. (At the end of the year, MBNA announced major worldwide layoffs, so it's a safe bet many of those on the street might have liked a little of the cash that will now underwrite the careers of Bentley-driving footballers and their high-maintenance WAGs.) Liverpool, currently sitting at No. 3 in the U.K.'s Premier League, has a rich history, and wants to leverage its potential globally. (The club also demolished Real Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.) Team manager Rafael Benitez has made no secret of his frustration that Liverpool doesn't get the same place on the world stage as Manchester United. But Liverpool already has deep pockets, with revenues of more than $277 million annually—hardly in need of a bailout money from the U.S. government.

—Posted by Noreen O'Leary

Filed under Bank of America, Europe, O'Leary, Soccer, Sports
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Lincecum's avatar is more likable than he is

This commercial from Ground Zero for 2K Sports stars reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and his animated counterpart from the popular MLB 2K9 video game. Adweek's Eleftheria Parpis hits it out of the park (sorry) when she notes: "While one is flesh and blood and the other a video game character, the silent Tim, even with all his awkward movements and vacant eyes, ends up coming across as more likable." The real pitcher does seem awfully cranky and uptight. Maybe he just got traded to Pittsburgh—that'd spoil anyone's day. The avatar is eager to please, quick to learn and, like all right-thinking people, he's a Wang Chung fan. Sign that software-generated doppleganger to a long-term deal. He won't demand five-star hotels and limos, just the occasional reboot and upgrade. And the only "juice" in his system will be of the AC variety. (I hear it gives his fastball a little extra zip!)

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under 2K Sports, Baseball, Gianatasio, Ground Zero, Sports, Video games
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Party's over as Tiger Woods returns to golf

When Tiger's away, the mice will play—and actually win, for a change. This amusing new Nike Golf spot from Wieden + Kennedy shows Anthony Kim, Stewart Cink, Trevor Immelman, Justin Leonard and Carl Pettersson having the time of their lives while Woods recovers from knee surgery. Of course, all good things come to an end—in this case, it's because Tiger has healed and will return to the PGA Tour on Wednesday for the Accenture Match Play Championship. The 60-second spot breaks on Wednesday and will air on ESPN, ESPN News and The Golf Channel until Sunday. The Golf Channel will air it right before Tiger's first tee shot on Wednesday.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Golf, Nike, Nudd, Sports
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Callaway giving golf a little bit of basketball

What's with golf these days? Once the world's most buttoned-up sport, it is now flirting with serious weirdness. Earlier we had Doug deGrood's golf rap video. The latest example comes in this teaser ad for a Callaway driver, via San Francisco agency Eleven Inc. Didn't golf courses used to have rules about flagrant tattoo-display? Traditionalists will be tempted to offer a tactful referral to all concerned. For better or worse, though, one suspects the ad is in sync with the sensibility of young men who wish to win some status points by displaying high-end gear out on the links.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Filed under Callaway, Dolliver, Eleven, Golf, Sports
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Hope is one thing the Cubs will always have

The Chicago Cubs are such losers. They haven't won a World Series since 1908. And they'll be watching the Fall Classic on TV this year as well. Perhaps on the big-screen TV at Alfonso Soriano's place, gathered around the gimpy outfielder as he recovers from the latest hangnail that's forced him to the disabled list. But hope springs eternal, so the club has launched a campaign from local shop Jones that shows the marquee at Wrigley Field splashed with nonsense like, "Home of the Reason You Put Up With the Winters" and "Home of Coming Back From Meetings with a Sunburn." Best of all is: "Home of the 2 Hour and 47 Minute Vacation." Does it really take almost three hours to get drubbed 15-0 by the Bronx Bombers? We'll find out April 3-4 at New Yankee Stadium, an ultra-modern, super-high-tech, state-of-the-art facility with Jumbotrons that appreciate the basic rules of usage and grammar. A-Rod: 'roid free in '09. Go Yanks!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Baseball, Chicago Cubs, Gianatasio, Jones, Sports
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NBA to play H-O-R-S-E, but call it G-E-I-C-O

This is just idiotic. USA Today is reporting that the NBA is organizing its first H-O-R-S-E contest for All-Star Weekend on Feb. 13-15. Only it's not calling it H-O-R-S-E. It's calling it G-E-I-C-O. Which sounds so authentic! Corporate sponsorship has its place, but this move will get ridiculed endlessly, and deserves to. What a bunch of P-I-G-s.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Filed under Geico, Insurance, NBA, Nudd, Sports
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Pittsburgh sports fans, it's time to move on

Pittsburgh has other pro sports teams besides the Super Bowl-winning Steelers? It's true! But they're all hopeless losers who haven't worn championship rings since dinosaurs roamed the earth. All the more reason they need ads, perhaps. Here's Cenergy's new work for the Penguins, who are currently in fourth place in the Atlantic division of the Eastern Conference. The ads target 11th-hour ticket seekers and time-shifters on tight schedules who apparently don't care that a 7-0 loss to the Bruins is still a blowout even if they watch it online the next day. The wedding spot above and this office cubicle spot are cute and effectively illustrate the "No matter where I am, I'm in the game" mantra. And yet, given the team's performance of late, wouldn't they rather be someplace else?

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Filed under Cenergy, Gianatasio, NHL, Sports
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