The NFL is "backing a public-service announcement" set to air during the Super Bowl broadcast from No More, an umbrella organization for groups "working to combat domestic violence and sexual assault," according to Suzanne Vranica of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The spot "features a woman talking to a 911 operator and pretending to order a pizza, speaking cryptically to alert the authorities that she needs help without tipping off her attacker." Vranica notes the NFL has been "battling the perception that it doesn’t take domestic abuse seriously" following the Ray Rice incident. Airing the PSA on TV’s biggest stage shows the NFL is "acutely aware it needs to repair damage to the sport’s image from the Rice scandal and other recent incidents." The league’s agency of record, Grey N.Y., "created the spot at no charge and the NFL is donating some of its airtime in the Feb. 1 telecast on NBC." New NFL CMO Dawn Hudson said, “This is us trying to do the right thing. If my motivation was to help the brand, then I would have slapped the NFL logo on it.” The PSA is the "latest of several No More spots that have run in NFL games, including the recent playoffs." Some of the PSAs have "featured current and former players" (
WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/27). ADWEEK's Noreen O'Leary noted the spot "discreetly avoids any direct images of violence." Based on an actual phone call, the camera "pans across a house, where it looks like an altercation has occurred, with books strewn about a disheveled rug, a punched-out wall and a broken picture of a woman." The spot "ends with the line: 'When it's hard to talk, it's up to us to listen.'" In addition to airing during the Super Bowl, the spot will "run on digital channels and get promotion from celebrity supporters" (
ADWEEK.com, 1/26). AD AGE's E.J. Schultz reported Grey also is expected to "produce a regular brand ad for the league that will run during the game" (
ADAGE.com, 1/26).
CHANGING SPOTS: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's "CMO Today" online segment profiled Hudson and discussed why she "decided to join the NFL, how she intends to repair the image of the league and the risks associated with diverting from typical Super Bowl ad themes." Hudson: "The No More spots haven’t gotten weird reactions. I don’t think there is a downside. Just want to make sure people are ready to pay attention to something that is different in the Super Bowl. The risk is people don’t notice it. We are putting it on for people to notice it." Hudson said of some viewing the spots as typical crisis PR, "The only thing we picked up is that like all commercials, at some point in time they wear out and people want to see some freshness. That is why we evolved the spots" (WSJ.com, 1/26).
