Super Bowl Marketing: Which Players Will Score On Madison Ave?

Super Bowl Victory Could Mean Another $3M In Annual Ad Deals For Manning

Baker Street Partners VP & Exec Creative Dir Bob Dorfman in his annual Super Bowl Sports Marketers’ Scouting Report writes with the "economy still iffy, and the Tiger Woods scandal still fresh in marketers' minds, it's going to take an MVP-caliber performance in this Super Bowl -- along with a charismatic personality, impeccably clean image and continued success -- to score on Madison Avenue." Colts QB Peyton Manning is the sole Super Bowl participant under the "Touchdown" category, and another victory for him is "probably worth another $3M in annual ad deals." Dorfman writes Saints QB Drew Brees has the "most marketing potential of any Super Bowl XLIV player, and a win in Miami could vault him into the upper echelon of athlete endorsers" (THE DAILY).

JUST DREW IT: Brees is one of three NFLers, along with Colts WR Reggie Wayne and Vikings DE Jared Allen, that EA Sports is allowing fans to vote on to be the cover athlete for "Madden NFL 11." L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke said, "Any big business would be out of its mind to put it up to a fan vote. This is not a fan vote. It's already rigged. There is no choice. It has to be Drew Brees. Nobody would vote for anybody else. He's perfect for the cover. He fits 'Madden' perfectly" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 2/4).

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE: U.S. Immigrations & Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary John Morton said that federal agents have "seized more than $100,000 worth of counterfeit NFL goods in the past month in South Florida, where criminals are taking advantage of the excitement" leading up to Sunday's Super Bowl. NFL VP/Legal Affairs Anastasia Danias noted that "many efforts have been put in place to prevent knock-offs" of Super Bowl XLIV tickets. In Ft. Lauderdale, Rachel Hatzipanagos notes the back of the official ticket has a stamp with the words "On The Moment" in special ink, which "temporarily becomes invisible" when rubbed. In addition, the "picture of the Vince Lombardi trophy on the ticket's front is embossed" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 2/5).

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN: Atlas Embroidery VP/Sales Adam Cohen, whose company produces Super Bowl apparel for Reebok, said a Cowboys-Jets Super Bowl matchup "from the manufacturing standpoint would have been the best-case scenario." Cohen said that game would have created "maybe ten-fold the amount of merchandise" as the Saints-Colts game will (Fox Business, 2/4).

Posters Feature Tidbits About NFL Players' Off-Field Lives

STARS! THEY'RE JUST LIKE US: In Ft. Lauderdale, Sarah Talalay reported the columns at baggage claim at the Miami Int'l Airport are covered by "larger than life posters featuring NFL Players sharing tidbits about their lives off the field." One poster featuring the Vikings' Allen contains the text, "The mullet isn't just a hairdo, it's a lifestyle," while another poster featuring Saints S Darren Sharper contains the text, "I'm a jokester. I like to keep people laughing." Talalay noted the posters are "part of a multi-platform campaign in collaboration with mobile marketing company, Mogreet Inc., to show the players as more than their jobs on the field." The posters went up on January 15 and will be up through February 15 (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 2/4).

WHO ARE YOU? A recording of The Who's performance during the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show will be made available following the game to purchase, download and play in the music video game "Rock Band." "The Who Super Bowl S-mashup" will be available in the "Rock Band" Music Store immediately after the game on XBox 360 and the Wii console (MTV Games).