Well, it looks like they finally found us. For almost two decades, NFL fans, including myself, have enjoyed tuning into the RedZone channel for the promise of “seven hours of commercial-free football” every Sunday. I’m a true NFL RedZonehead – it’s like having your very own VIP room mission control center. The action is high, and the commercials are low, or, up to this point, non-existent. It’s a refreshing respite from the typical commercial-laden NFL broadcast.
But change is making its way downfield and commercials have reached the RedZone. As an ad guy, I get it. But as a football fan, I’m a little concerned. There’s an old saying, “Wherever there’s a crowd, there’s advertising.” (I may have just made that up, but it’s true), and as we all know, the NFL is in the “let’s-use-crowds-to-drive-max-profits-fans-be-damned-business”. Case in point: have you tried watching an NFL game at a bar on Apple TV? Paramount? Watching a barkeep fumble with remotes while the game ticks away is not a pretty sight. But again, I’m a football guy and an ad guy, so let’s look at the X’s and O’s to see how this brave new world will work with ads encroaching into my RedZone experience.
The pros for the pros.
Let’s start with the good news. The way this new advertising arrangement is set up, there will only be a teensy amount of advertising across a full-day’s coverage. Little 15-second ads will pop onto the screen as the game coverage continues. No breakaways or interruptions from big plays, so the important part is still intact. And I actually love 15-second ads–they pack a fun punch in a bite-sized package, and they dare creators to be connective and imaginative in quick bursts.
I can see that if this is done well, it could bring some value to my life. Maybe a Draft Kings ad will finally speak to me and I’ll hit a 3-game parlay, and count my winnings from a villa overlooking the crystal waters of the Maldives. Or maybe I’ll just scan a QR code that automatically delivers two dozen lemon pepper wings to my face? These are ads I can actually use as a part of my Sunday-long football intake.
As long as they don’t break away from the game, I’ll be fine. I look at advertising all day anyway. Are a few little ads here and there really going to ruin my day? Doubtful.
And then there’s the cons for my beloved coverage.
Then again, what if this is only the beginning? If there’s one thing I’ve learned about advertising, it’s that once it finds a host, it’s staying put. This is undoubtedly only the start; I’m certain ads will begin to feed, and grow, and morph into a giant, unwanted interruption. The screen could eventually be covered in popups for life insurance and medications that you may need to ask your doctor if they’re right for you. Maybe the roar of the crowd will eventually be drowned out by the roar of a V8 engine emanating from a brand-new F150 extended cab truck graphic, powering its way across the screen.
Icing the kicker could take on new meaning when they have the kicker do a live read for Icy Hot during the last timeout with :01 seconds on the clock. Or will we see announcers delivering a Dos Equis “Go for Dos” moment during a two-point conversion (something I actually saw during the recent Broncos v. Eagles game)? I can see it now, along with Pringles cans for end zone pylons and quarterbacks yelling, “Pizza! Pizza!” at the line of scrimmage. Or will we see Waffle House menus on the reverse side of a coach’s playcard, just moments before he’s doused with a cooler full of White Claw’s new Huckleberry Ice seltzer during a post-game celebration? Only time will tell. But my gut tells me that advertisers will take this one yard at a time, until they get the W.
Commercial-free football may have reached the big endzone in the sky.
Either way, seven hours of commercial-free football as we know it is no more. But ya know what? I love advertising. Ads pay my bills. I enjoy creating them. It’s a fun career. Case in point, I’m typing this in my pajamas on a sunny afternoon. So, let the commercials come and do their best to separate me from my hard-earned dollar. But, I’ve got my eye on you, NFL. I’ll be watching you like a hawk (or rather, like a Falcon, Eagle, Cardinal, Raven, or Seahawk) for seven hours every Sunday, and I better not see a Reese’s logo across a bright orange Cleveland jersey anytime soon, or I’ll…probably go scour the pantry for a peanut butter cup.
