my 2 cents

Post-Game Media Wrap-up

 

Once again, I wonder about the news judgement of some media people.

THE news of the Super Bowl yesterday was the Packers' win.  Second, in my opinion, should be problems that some fans had at the stadium when their seats were not available.  Then would come the analysis and consumer survey opinions of the ads, which are as much a part of The Game as what happens on the field itself.

But the lead story -- or the second top item -- on the morning shows both local and network was the mistake singer Christina Aquilera with the "Star Spangled Banner" lyrics.  So she made a mistake.  It's not unusual for even the top singers to flub lyrics.  Aquilera did the right thing -- she continued on.  And her apology issued later was appropriate and should lay it to rest.

But the media this morning kept pounding her.  Hell, if I were in front of tens of thousands of fans and 110 million TV viewers, I'd be lucky if I could remember my own name.  Lyrics aside, her rendition was so filled with unnecessary flourishes that it seemed a bit schmaltzy to me.

Since I didn't see the game, other than the great interception and touchdown run by Packers' Donald Driver, I also missed the ads.  I did happen to see the cute VW "Darth Vader" ad online.  It deserves all the buzz it's been getting.

So now, once the post-game analysis by the armchair coaches is done, the story may be whether or not there will even be a Super Bowl next year.  A contract dispute may be looming, between greedy players and even greedier team owners. What will advertisers do with the extra cash they'll have if they can't spend it at the rate of $2.8 million per 30-second shot?  Lower prices a bit, maybe?

Stay tuned.

 

(Don't worry, readers.  my 2 cents is NOT becoming a sports blog, despite two posts in a row on football.  Anyone who knows me knows that would never happen.)

(Super Bowl) Weekend Thoughts

Depending on which prognosticator you listen to, this year's Super Bowl TV audience will exceed 107 million and could hit 110 million in the U.S.  A select group of advertisers are paying upwards of $2.8 million per 30-second spot to have their ad run during the big game.

So much of the hype every year is about the ads, rather than the game itself.  Newspaper stories include a list of whose spots will run when during the game, and previews of some of the ads have already been shown on the entertainment shows and online.

Whatever the eventual audience turns out to be, FOX will count one less since I won't be watching the game.  Had the Jets made it, I might have tuned in periodically to check on them.  Not that I'm a fan, but I do root, root, root for the home team.

But since they're not in the game, I have absolutely no interest in it.  I'm not the typical red-blooded American male who plans his weekends around what game is playing and when.  I'm not a big beer drinker, and wings aren't among my favorite foods.   And all the hype about the ads only serves to turn me off to the whole thing.  I just don't care.

I'm not sure what I'll be doing early Sunday evening.  Maybe I'll be at the movies.  Or I'll read – I'm starting the last of the Stieg Larsson trilogy about Lisbeth Salander.  Weather permitting, I may take the dog for a long walk.

But I know won't be watching the game.  It's almost un-American, isn't it?  I'm not joining the crowd.

It's similar to how many of my fellow Jews feel on Christmas.  It's not our holiday, so what do we do?  How many times can you watch "It's a wonderful life" on TV?  Stores are closed, as are most restaurants.  Museums are closed.  Many Broadway shows are dark on Christmas.  With few options, we end up going to a movie and having Chinese food, since Chinese restaurants are just about the only ones open on Christmas.

So on Sunday, while the rest of the nation fixates on Super Bowl, I’ll be doing who-knows-what.   But I won't be sitting with beer and wings and watching the Steelers and Packers.

What are your plans, hmmm?

Are we really just goldfish?

 

"The American sports fan -- any sports fan, really -- has the memory of a goldfish." 

 

So said sports marketing exec Darren Marshall, in response to Michael Vick appearing in his first product endorsement since his conviction and 21-month jail sentence for animal cruelty after his involvement in a dog fighting ring.

Marshall predicts that Vick, as long as he continues his strong performance on the football field, will eventually pick up some national endorsement contracts.  The current TV ad campaign in which he appears is for a local New Jersey auto dealership.  He is reportedly getting no cash for the deal, but instead is getting use of a $54,000 vehicle.  A Nissan corporate spokesperson told Advertising Age, "Nissan does not have a direct relationship with Michael Vick nor do we have any plans to."  My guess is they quietly wish that dealer had selected someone other than Vick for their campaign.

I do believe people deserve a second chance in many cases.  But Vick knew what he was doing by torturing dogs and promoting dog fights for sport.  His wasn't a momentary lapse in judgment or a bad move caused by an act of passion.  It was a combination of stupidity and callous disregard for life, along with an arrogance that he, a big sports hero, was somehow above the law and the bounds of human decency.

So let Vick play ball and if he continues to do well, let him draw his big overblown salary from the Eagles.  But I think many people have memories a bit better than that of a goldfish and we'll remember his past behavior.  And those of us who aren't goldfish may choose to avoid using any product or service that he is paid to endorse.  Depending how many non-goldfish there are, marketers may find he just is not worth the big endorsement bucks some experts think he'll be getting again.

Other Voices: Memories and The Last Hurrah

I give this space over, from time to time, to non-bloggers.  The idea is to bring other voices into the mix and, possibly, get others hooked on the joys of blogging.

I've known and worked with Judd Cohen for more than 25 years.  We worked together at a mid-size p.r. agency back in the early 1980s, and we've shared office space and, occasionally, clients since the early 1990s.

Judd is a baseball fanatic.  For several years, he and his family made their summer vacation a pilgrimage to visit and see a ballgame in every Major  League park in the U.S. and Canada.  He may write a book about it some day.

Next season, he'll have two new ballparks to visit -- right here in New York.  I know which will be first on the list.

....

I was at Yankee Stadium last night; my final visit after 56 years attending Yankee games.

The final night at The Stadium was a tribute to, as everyone called it, an "iconic" ballpark that  some of the greatest teams and players called home and where some of the greatest games were played.  But, what most of us were celebrating were memories and the passage of time.  For me, it started with my first game and my father buying me a hot dog (25 cents, sold from wicker baskets) when I was eight.  They tasted so great back then.  I took my son to his first game at age six on a cool, sunny September Sunday during the Yankees skein of losing seasons in the late '80s and bought him almost every item in the souvenir store.

Everyone last night had memories.  That's what we were really cheering, the memories and the players who helped make them and brought them back to life last night.  After the game, as the Yankees paraded around the field, I looked around the stadium at the great seats behind home plate that my father used to get, to the last row of the upper deck in right field (they called it the Grandstand then, and admission was $1.25), where I used to sit in high school, to the seat where we sat when Jim Abbott pitched his no-hitter (my younger son's second game), to all the other seats on Opening Day, the World Series, playoffs, dull games.  The ballpark was alive with memories.  I felt emotional, but held it back and put my arm around my son.  In a way, he had grown up at Yankee Stadium.  He is now 25, a broadcaster who covered many games there in the past several years.  He interviews players whose autographs he sought as a kid and is friendly with journalists and broadcasters he looked up to.  He has his memories.

A baseball game is a great bonding experience for fathers and sons, perhaps the best, and in talking about baseball we usually say much more.  I also learned something years ago.  In the relaxed environment of a baseball game, kids probably tell their parents more about their lives than they normally do.

So the old ballpark is no more, the games will move across the street to the Xanadu by the East River, but the memories remain.  We'll have new ones starting next year and some day my son will go to a game with his kids and tell them about his memories of the old stadium, and the last game there.

-- Judd Cohen

Bad Idea: LPGA demands players speak English

I couldn't believe my eyes as I read yesterday of the LPGA's announcement that it was insisting that its players be proficient in speaking English.

Their position reinforces the stereotype of the ugly American -- reluctant to acknowledge other languages and cultures.

The LPGA says the language barrier facing a number of its players is causing problems on many fronts, including the players' dealings with the media as well as the league's sponsors and the customers of those sponsors.  I can understand the desire to have players who can communicate easily with the media here, as well as with sponsors.  But we live in a global society and not everyone speaks our language, nor must they.

If the LPGA wants to position itself as representing the world's best players, then the tour will most likely include many from other nations. An Associated Press story says there are 478 LPGA tour members, and a quarter of them -- 121 -- are from 26 other nations.

I doubt many of our Olympics athletes learned much Mandarin before they headed off to Beijing.  How many of our pro baseball players are proficient in Japanese when they play ball over there?  (How many are even proficient in English when they're here?)

The LPGA issued a statement threatening to fine players who don't measure up to a minimum English proficiency.

From here, it looks like the league did a terrible job of public relations.  They didn't even bother to consult or inform their sponsors before making the move.  

State Farm Insurance, an LPGA sponsor and the title sponsor of a tournament on the tour in Illinois, was caught by surprise and is now taking another look at its future relationship with the LPGA.

According to Advertising Age, "It's something we are dumfounded by," said Kip Diggs, media-relations specialist at the insurer.  We don't understand this and don't know why they have done it, and we have strongly encouraged them to take another look at this."

Good for you, State Farm, for showing some sensitivity that the LPGA seems to lack.