Boost Mobile Using '85 Bears Players In New Super Bowl Spot

Boost Mobile Featuring Former Bears Players In Its First Super Bowl Spot

Boost Mobile has "drafted some of the 1985 Chicago Bears to star in its first Super Bowl commercial as the prepaid-wireless company tries to raise its brand awareness in an increasingly competitive market," according to Suzanne Vranica of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Boost Mobile is "putting finishing touches on its ad," which shows former Bears including Jim McMahon, Willie Gault and Mike Singletary "re-creating their famous 'Super Bowl Shuffle' rap song and video." The spot is being created by Omnicom Group's 180, L.A, and Boost parent company Sprint Nextel "declined to disclose how much it spent for the ad." The spot "will run in the first quarter" of Super Bowl XLIV, which is being broadcast on CBS on February 7. Vranica noted Boost "markets its plans to 18- to 49-year-olds and hopes the Super Bowl ... will help it build a broader awareness." Sprint Nextel VP/Marketing Bob Stohrer said that Boost has "about 55% to 65% brand awareness with consumers" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/16). In N.Y., Holly Sanders Ware notes Boost Mobile is "jumping into the fray despite a budget dwarfed by rival giants AT&T and Verizon Wireless." With "veterans such as Pepsi, General Motors and FedEx sitting out Super Bowl XLIV," viewers "should prepare for a roster of unseasoned and second-string players during the commercial breaks" (N.Y. POST, 1/18).

DOLLARS & NONSENSE? Chrysler last week announced it will air a 60-second spot for its Dodge brand during the Super Bowl, and AD AGE's Rupal Parekh notes the company's decision to return to the game now, "after a five-year hiatus and on the heels of bankruptcy, set off a debate among consumers whether spending that kind of cash was kosher." Within hours of the news, Chrysler was "getting skewered in the blogosphere by angry consumers who dubbed the high-profile buy a waste of taxpayer dollars." Parekh: "What's a company who's taken a handout to do? Marketing is a part of the normal course of any business, and essential to rebuilding tattered brands. But when you're screamed at for spending money, is it worth it?" (AD AGE, 1/18 issue).