This year, the NFL aired a host of playoff commercials. There are always a wide range of commercials aimed at convincing fans to watch NFL games, but in the playoffs it is even more vital to capture the casual football fan. This year, the NFL took a unique and interesting approach, using fan reaction videos of incredible moments to promote the NFL playoffs. One of the most widely used of these commercials is of the Super Bowl-sealing interception by Tracy Porter that led to the New Orleans Saints beating the Indianapolis Colts for their first Super Bowl victory in franchise history. The commercial can be seen here:
There will always be a core base of football fans that are going to watch every NFL playoff game. Additionally, there are the diehard local fans that will watch every game that their team is in until they are out of the playoffs. But what about the local fans whose teams didn't make the playoffs? Or the casual sports fan that likes watching a football game when it happens to be on, but won’t necessarily take the time to seek one out? These casual fans are the ones the NFL seeks out come playoff-time – the true moneymakers.
The New Orleans Saints reaction commercial is the prototypical example of how to capture the interest of these casual fans. It pulls at the emotions of the viewer, and focuses on the opportunity to witness an incredible moment in sports history. A fan never knows when one of these moments will happen, but the draw of the possibility of witnessing it live when it does is what can push these casual fans over the edge in getting them to watch every game in the playoffs. The tagline at the end of the video, reading “This is what it’s all about,” is further evidence that this was the intent behind this commercial campaign.
Another aspect of this commercial that helps make it so successful is the quality and point of view of the video footage itself. It is very clear that all of these video clips are low-quality, fan-made reaction videos. This allows the viewer to feel as though they are sitting right there with the fans in living rooms and bars across the country, which makes the entire commercial feel more personal. The people in the video are not actors, superstars, or athletes; they’re just ordinary people witnessing extraordinary events unfolding before their eyes. It is exactly this personal connection to the audience that makes these commercials so effective. Since the viewer feels an emotional connection with the fans in the commercial, the possibility of sharing in one of these moments is promoted even further, which is manifested by the audience watching more NFL Playoffs games.
An interesting note – the Saints commercial was so successful that the NFL actually made another, shorter version featuring a reaction to the catch that led to the Giants beating the Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl. These commercials are so much cheaper to make than big production commercials that I wouldn’t be surprised to see even more of them going into the future. Here’s the Giants commercial:
The analysis on the cheaper almost home made video is what I noticed at first. Watching that quality in the commercial made me feel like I was watching with the Saints fans but more importantly, gave me a rush of excitement and emotions. I completely agree with you that we are going to see more of these types of commercials not only for the low budget they require but also because I believe they really do reach the viewer on a different level than actors or athletes.
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