Duracell has an online ad featuring the story of Seahawks FB Derrick Coleman, who is legally deaf, and the P&G brand now "wants its new ad in Fox's broadcast" of Sunday's 49ers-Seahawks NFC Championship game Sunday, according to Jack Neff of AD AGE. The Duracell ad would offer a balance to a Beats by Dre spot featuring 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick "wearing the brand's headphones to drown out obnoxious Seattle fans." The Beats ad has "heavily aired" during the NFL playoffs and "appears likely to be on Sunday's game." P&G execs "never intended to produce a response to the Beats ad and hadn't noticed the connection" until it was pointed out. Duracell Marketing Dir Jeff Jarrett said of getting the Coleman ad in the game, "We're exploring it, but we don't have it there yet. ... As far as we know, the game is sold out, so it will be a last-minute thing if it happens." Neff noted Duracell "doesn't really have a dog in the fight," as the original ad in the brand's "Trust Your Power" campaign featured 49ers LB Patrick Willis. Prior to the start of the playoffs, Duracell had already identified Coleman, an "undrafted free agent who overcame his hearing impairment to get a spot on the Seahawks, as someone to feature in one of the campaign's biographical ads" (
ADAGE.com, 1/14). ADWEEK's Tim Nudd wrote Duracell's ad with Coleman is "a great piece of work." Coleman narrates the ad and tells his "story of being picked on as a kid ... and being passed over by the NFL Draft" (
ADWEEK.com, 1/13).
