Patriots QB Tom Brady "is making a concerted effort to turn himself from star quarterback to resilient brand with the help of social media," according to Michelle Castillo of ADWEEK. N.Y.-based creative agency BrandFire co-Founder & President Adam Padilla worked with Brady this year "to create a logo" for the QB. Brady's manager Will McDonough has been working to get Brady "more active on social media, and the two teams helped work to turn Brady into the TB12 brand." Padilla said of Brady, "Being such a perfect guy makes him inaccessible to the average person." Since Brady "is a private person for the most part, the shop encouraged him to keep his social media management in-house, post more frequently on Facebook, and harness" the popularity of his wife Gisele Bündchen's Twitter and Instagram accounts. Padilla said that it "is no coincidence that Bündchen is wearing and posting more Brady-related content." Allowing Brady "to self deprecate on Facebook, like posting awkward childhood photos, or show his goofy side with the help of pop culture memes, helps people connect with him" (ADWEEK.com, 2/5).
MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE: In Birmingham, Mark Inabinett reported jerseys with Patriots CB Malcolm Butler's name and No. 21 "are being rushed to retailers, and the former West Alabama standout will appear on football cards for the first time." Butler came into the "national spotlight" after making the game-clinching interception in Super Bowl XLIX. Topps announced that Butler "is included in its Super Bowl commemorative sets." Available "only via online purchase, Butler's big play shows up on a highlight card and he's included as one of two online 'bonus' cards, along with" Brady. Panini America announced that it had "reworked its final release" for the '14 NFL season -- National Treasures Football -- "to include card No. 273, proclaimed as Malcolm Butler's 'rookie card'" (AL.com, 2/5).
ON TO THE NEXT ONE: Patriots Owner Robert Kraft on Thursday in a phone interview said, "Next year is the 50th (Super Bowl). Our objective is that we want to make the playoffs, but in the end, once you make the playoffs ... if we were somehow fortunate (to win the Super Bowl) that would allow us to win 10 percent of all Super Bowls. We’re hungry as an organization, and we’ll do whatever we can to put our team in position to do that." Kraft said of his response to accusations of illegally deflating footballs levied against the Patriots, "I was really upset." He added, "My friend who owns the Chargers, Dean Spanos, he said, ‘I’ve known you 21 years and I’ve never known you to be (like that). You’re so calm.’" Meanwhile, Kraft, who also serves as Revolution Investor & Operator, said, "We’ve seen tremendous growth in soccer in this region. I think we now have leadership in this area where we can maybe build a stadium that’s soccer-specific." He added, "We lost the MLS Cup in overtime and then we won the Super Bowl. It would be nice to win championships in both sports" (BOSTON HERALD, 2/6).
