SCC Blog
Endorsing “Semi-Pro”
April 7th, 2008I realize this post is a little overdue, but while Semi-Pro is dying a slow death at the cinema, Jackie Moon is still pitching Old Spice and Bud Light every hour on ESPN. I have had this post on my “to do” list for over a month and figured now might be the time to dust it off and get it online. Somehow seeing Ferrell in those ridiculous shorts in an Old Spice commercial last night while watching Sports Center provided the inspiration to wrap this up. So, here goes nothing…
Product placement is clearly not new territory for Will Ferrell. Neither is starring in a sports film (see Kicking and Screaming, Talladega Nights, and Blades of Glory). And while there are those who would debate Ferrell’s comedic talents, there is no denying his marketing savvy. Ferrell has successfully plugged into today’s marketing machine and implemented a variety of guerilla marketing tactics. Need proof? Look no further than Ferrell’s “viral” marketing ploy to drive traffic to a new website (Funny or Die). The video short produced by Ferrell and former Saturday Night Live writer Adam McKay (who co-wrote and directed Ferrell films Talladega Nights and Anchorman) generated more than 7 million views in just 24 hours. Let me repeat that. SEVEN million views in just TWENTY FOUR hours.
New Line Cinemas surely took into account Ferrell’s propensity to go all-out when promoting his movies before inking the multi-million dollar deal that locked him in for Semi-Pro. Ferrell’s unique style reared its head in all kinds of places, beginning with the Super Bowl. In fact, Ferrell’s Bud Light spot during the big game was rated as the fifth best advertisement by Nielsen. Soon after, in a crossover promotion, Ferrell posed in character as Jackie Moon with supermodel Heidi Klum for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. New Line and Ferrell also set their sights on YouTube where they assembled a contest encouraging users to create their own music video for a song featured in the film. To sum up the effort, no stone was left unturned.
Following the Talladega Nights film, a number of entertainment business executives suggested that Ferrell went above and beyond the call of duty for celebrities in promoting the movie by appearing everywhere in character donning the Wonder Bread driver uniform. Norm Marshall, CEO of Norm Marshall & Associates, had this to say: “I personally salute Will Ferrell for all of his work in promoting this movie. He had my client’s name (Wonder Bread) written all over his uniform while sitting on ‘The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.’ From the perspective of talent, he has gone above and beyond to be out there hyping this movie and wearing that uniform. He’s definitely in a class by himself.”
Another area where Ferrell’s films excel from a marketer’s perspective is his no-holds barred attitude toward product placement. For those unfamiliar, product placement is an advertising approach in which commercial products and services are used within the context of certain media where the presence of a particular brand is the result of an economic exchange. In other words, a company pays a studio for their brand to be integrated into a particular film. Ferrell’s films are notorious for this particular advertising strategy. In fact, Talladega Nights had at one point set a record for product appearances in a single film, with brands like Wonder Bread, Perrier, Old Spice, Powerade, Applebee’s, Domino’s Pizza and Coca-Cola gaining significant exposure on the big screen. Similarly, Ferrell’s film Blades of Glory was an absolute product placement bonanza. Just a sampling of the brands included in the film reveals names like 7-Eleven, adidas, Airwalk, Capri-Sun, Chevrolet, Cool Whip, Crest, Dunkin’ Donuts, Foot Locker, Forbes, Google, Honda, Milk Duds, Panasonic, Pepsi, Pop-Tarts, Salomon, Sealy Posturepedic, Skittles, Slim Jim, SoBe, Subway, The North Face, TrimSpa, Verizon and Xbox.
Clearly, Semi-Pro was not about to sidestep the product placement process. A number of brands were featured, including adidas, Cadillac, Converse, Hitachi, PUMA, Shasta and Sports Illustrated. The NBA also figured prominently into Semi-Pros plans. The plot revolved around Ferrell’s team and its intentions of being selected as one of the expansion NBA franchises. Several individual NBA teams were also featured, including the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets and San Antonio Spurs. Curiously, some of the NBA’s most recognizable teams (New York Knicks, LA Lakers, Boston Celtics) were left out.
Unfortunately for New Line, Ferrell and company (including the many distinguished brands featured in the film), the movie didn’t attract the masses despite all the promotional efforts. After opening weekend, entertainment biz news stories around the Internet featured headlines like “Semi-Pro Shoots A Box Office Airball” and “Semi-Pro Dribbles to Disappointing $14.3M Weekend”.
So what’s next for Ferrell and company? While this is purely speculative and to pigeon hole Ferrell into only doing sports comedies would be myopic, my guess is some sort of film mocking the trend of eating contests (hot dogs or otherwise) might be next on the horizon…and Oscar Meyer probably won’t be too far behind.
*** Questions for Classroom Discussion ***
1) What is product placement?
2) What is endorsement?
3) Are product placement and endorsement the same thing? Why or why not?
4) What do product placement and endorsement have to do with marketing?
5) How do these concepts relate to what you’re learning in class?
6) How does product placement impact the consumer? Discuss as a class.
7) Using the Internet, research who owns the trademark to the phrase “March Madness”. I think you will be surprised! As a class, discuss the importance of a trademark and how the concept relates to this blog post.
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