You Want to Watch a Real Good NFL Ad – Do It Yourself, Then

Last Friday, AdAge.com published an article announcing that, like Chevy and Frito-Lay, the National Football League has started its own competition for the best NFL ad made by fans. The promotion, entitled “Pitch us your idea for the best NFL Super Bowl commercial ever. Seriously.” begins on October 31^st with the launch of the site www.nfl.com/superad. The site will not only provide fans with complete information on the competition but will also make available to them online elements such as video montage of highlights from auditions, as well as interviews, commentary and commercial pitches from NFL stars and celebrities such as New York Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma, NFL Network personality Rich Eisen and actor Don Cheadle, for use in their videos. Fans are allowed, or rather – asked, to be as creative as they can possibly be, however, with the strict restriction that all ideas should be exclusively football-related and the Super Bowl should be the only brand featured. The winner of the competition would see their ad turned into a 30-second spot directed by Joe Pytka that would run during the February 4^th, 2007, game.

On November 16^th, the NFL team will begin a tour in three major NFL markets to gather pitches from fans. The first stop will be the Giants Stadium East Rutherford, N.J. where on the November 17^th and 18^th the first pitches will be made. Following is Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas on December 1^st and 2^nd. The final stop is Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver just a week later on December 8^th and 9^th. The goal is to have all pitches reviewed and limited to 12 finalists, which will be posted on www.nfl.com/superad, by December 15^th when the final decision-making period begins.

The winner will be chosen by a final judging headed by award-winning director Joe Pytka . He will be reviewing the submissions during the contest and publishing his comments on the promotion website. The other members of the jury are yet unknown. Nevertheless, it was announced that it would consist of various members of the extended NFL family, including people in marketing, advertising, and media. Fans will also have the opportunity to take part in the election by submitting their votes online at www.nfl.com/superad between December 15, 2006 and January 7, 2007. The winner would be announced on January 8, 2007. They would have the opportunity to view the filming of the ad. Additionally, the winner and a guest will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Miami to see Super Bowl XLI as a special guest of the NFL.

Sounds great, doesn’t it. So all you football fans, let your imaginations fly and, who knows, it might be your ad we are watching on the BIG DAY.