The NFL will introduce its first national print advertising campaign geared around Thanksgiving today.
A three-page advertorial is appearing in the national edition of The New York Times along with The Boston Globe. The feature is part of a one-year advertorial deal with The New York Times Co. that launched in September when the New York Giants hosted the season opener against San Francisco. The deal also includes an advertorial timed with this season's Super Bowl.
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| Monday’s New York Times NFL advertorial |
Ty Stewart, senior marketing manager with the NFL, said the league does not pay for the space. The pact lets The New York Times Co. sell ads around NFL stories. One company, Mobic, signed up as an advertiser for the Thanksgiving package.The advertorial, written by the NFL under the banner "Thanksgiving Classics," examines the holiday at the Manning household, which includes former NFL star quarterback Archie and his son, Indianapolis quarterback Peyton. Former Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly reminisces about playing football on Thanksgiving while growing up in Pennsylvania. Another story talks about the NFL's support of the military.
"No one other than the NFL could have had the personal look into the Mannings' Thanksgiving," Stewart said. "This is a way to get as close to the NFL as you can be."
The Monday publishing date emphasizes the league's commitment to making football a weeklong event during Thanksgiving, Stewart said. In 2001, the league ran advertorials in certain Tribune Co. newspapers the day before Thanksgiving. It was also the first year the NFL treated Thanksgiving Day games as a marketing event, including outfitting teams in throwback uniforms.
The New York Times Co. expects to sell four pages of ads for the Super Bowl advertorial in January. When the league kicked off its deal in September, ESPN and Campbell's Chunky Soup were among the advertisers.
