If you were near Seattle during the NFL playoffs in 2014, you can’t forget Blitz vs. Miles.
Why do I love the “This is SportsCenter” ads so much? Part of the fun comes from the fact each ad is set up to look like a scene from a familiar office environment, but with a twist. Scott Van Pelt steals Lebron James’ chair, Metallica auditions to write intro music for ballplayers, and rotund Western Kentucky University mascot Big Red tries to squeeze through the window of NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski’s car to catch a ride home. The ads make us laugh and appreciate that taken out of context, the things we so readily accept as a natural part of the sporting landscape, are in some sense, ridiculous.
And yet we keep watching. Though I am no longer much of a fan of the show itself, as it’s gone the way of focusing on rampant speculation rather than reporting on actual sporting events, I still love the commercials.
As we prepare for another playoff season, and another set of the most watched commercials of the year on Super Bowl Sunday, think about how to use self-awareness to delight your audience. Poke a little fun at the abnormalities in your market, exploit exaggerations in the characters you deal with, and remember that people love to have fun.