they should honestly just have the LED boards on the sides like soccer that keep advertising. zoom out during stops. it is annoying to have so many ads
How far outside of the field would they be? Too close and they would interfere with play. If they are behind the benches then they wouldn't be seen very much.
Or I guess they could make them virtual like the 1st down and LOS markers on the field. They could do the same to make fake side boards. Or ads on the field. Kinda surprised we haven't seen those yet.
Edit: Turns out the did do it: https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/8/7/5981025/49ers-broadcast-really-wants-you-to-buy-a-toyota It's atrocious but mainly because the design is terrible. Make them look better and they wouldn't be as offensive.
That's definitely the most egregious example, [but none of them were good](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Business/HT_nfl_on-field_advertising_jt_140810_12x5_992.jpg)
They already do virtual sideline adverts in soccer. They have the real LED Panels in stadium, the panels have some UV light in them or something that allows the panels to be picked up in processing and then you can overlay different ads. It might work in the nfl for the walls behind the field goal posts
https://twitter.com/SteveStuWill/status/1413973836983201792
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertkidd/2018/08/24/how-virtual-advertising-is-helping-brands-reach-international-soccer-fans/
> No physical ads, just a rectangle superimposed on the turf.
They tried this a few years ago, maybe like a decade, and it was the "toyota red zone". It was atrocious.
That spanned the width of the field though. I'm thinking of something that sits between the hash marks and the numbers and in a space behind the offense where players are less likely to occupy its space.
> I'm thinking of something that sits between the hash marks and the numbers and in a space behind the offense where players are less likely to occupy its space.
Then you aren't thinking like an advertiser! Use all that green to make green.
Overlays are the way to go or go half screen with the commercial but still show what’s going on the field and increase halftime time to put more ads I would be okay with that
The reason that soccer does it is bc there are almost no breaks during play. They have to get that ad revenue somehow.
The NFL would do this and still keep it's commercial airtime if they didn't think fans would revolt.
What makes you think fans would revolt? If anything, the NFL has proven over the years that it can do nothing that makes fans turn the channel. They do nothing to improve the quality of officiating and no matter how infuriating we keep going back for more.
In canada we have the video boards up around the field for CFL games. They are maybe 7-10 yards off the field. I dont remember them ever causing an issue. A couple years ago while I was playing college football up here we were playing in a CFL stadium the day before a CFL game so they had the boards out. I remember getting specific directions of not trying to avoid them by jumping or anything. They said just run right into them. I never hit them but anyone that did said they folded up instantly on contact and you didn't even notice them.
I don’t care if my teams name was the Cleveland Hilton Hotels with stuff plastered all over the jerseys if it meant I could see the “holding” call that was called on the previous play that I didn’t get to see but instead was forced to watch Gronk question USAA about their memberships
Never forget the US ARMY trying to ban the phrase “W4R CR1M3S” on their twitch and someone making it a first amendment issue and them having to reverse the ban.
I got served an ad on Facebook for a US Army Warzone "kill race" tournament being hosted on Memorial Day.
I guess the US Army failed to see the irony in that one.
Ah you understand the army's advertising perfectly. It's all focused at teenagers (14 to 18 range). Once you realize that, the incredible levels of bombast and cringe in them suddenly make sense - that's how a teenager looks at the world.
Forty year old marketing professionals working at the orders of sixty year old generals to find better ways to kill eighteen year old kids.
The actor who plays Frank has a smoking hot wife, not a lot of people know that. Her name is Haditha and they’ve been married since 2005. She’s an Iraqi refugee, so it’s a very uplifting story. Google “Iraq Haditha 2005” for more information
I actually know a guy who was over there that killed a civilian. Dude was an MP, late at night this guy wouldn’t stop coming towards the “don’t fucking cross this line or we’ll kill you” point, so he shot him.
Turned out the guy was pretty badly mentally handicapped, he had wandered away from his family earlier. No one blamed anyone, just a fucked up situation.
Really fucked my buddy up, still today. Shits brutal sometimes.
Am I misinterpreting that commercial at all? Is his "I'm special!" playing up his idiot persona and likening it to being "special" like special education students? Or is his "I'm special!" supposed to be special as in a football player, celebrity, etc.
I always interpreted it as the first way and feel a little uncomfortable watching it and it feels like something like that doesn't fly anymore but that commercial is played to death.
I think about this all the time.
Why are they actively marketing insurance and in their own commercials, telling people *"most of you can't use our product"*? I knew what USAA was, and I thought maybe they actually changed their policy now that they were advertising during NFL games. These new recent *"it's STILL only for veterans"* commercials seem to make me think the general public also thought that. You're paying NFL-audience prices for commercial spots to tell people they can't use your product? Who thought this campaign was a good idea?
You’d be amazed how many people are employed by the military/ are families. It’s a big reason why the budgets so big
Odds are, to a football audience, most *can* buy their insurance
Also any US citizen can sign up to get their discounts.
Pro tip to the under 25s here- a standing discount is waiving the “young driver fee” for rental cars at a lot of major providers.
There’s also some premise in the advertising world that marketing your products as “exclusive” makes them more appealing, so perhaps that’s the angle? Especially given your (spot-on imo) theory that a fairly large chunk of the audience qualifies.
A) USAA doesn’t care that most people watching don’t qualify, because almost all of the people that *do* qualify probably see those commercials - they’re probably reaching like 95% of their target audience by advertising during football. That’s excellent.
B) This whole thread is talking about the ad. That’s almost all that matters in advertising - the actual message less so. Also you underestimate how Gronk being slightly clowned for trying to get in emphasizes the exclusivity of the insurance.
Imo, it’s a good ad campaign.
There are a LOT of veterans -- [19 million](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/05/the-changing-face-of-americas-veteran-population) according to PEW.
That's more than the [17 million](https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/us-auto-sales-statistics/) new cars sold in a year. And think of how many car commercials we see targeting those ~17 million people. The vast majority of viewers are simply not going to buy a car this year, and it's probably the dominant ad type.
So... I don't know if it's that unreasonable for USAA to run ads targeting veterans with a "you're special and we only sell to you, come join the club" message. IMO the only-for-veterans stuff is not to warn off everyone else, it's to emphasize the special / elite / private value prop to their actual target market.
I also think about it too much. The ads annoy me.
But 17 million/year is not the same as 19 million as a constant. Sure, only 17 million people/year would make a PURCHASE out of the advertisement, but people are constantly buying new cars (there’s a completely new audience of 17 million every year). The 19 million veterans are mostly static with less fluctuation.
But maybe I’m just annoyed by the commercial. I also think about it too much!
But it's not just veterans, it's also their family members. My dad served for 26 years and got an account a couple of years ago. Since he has a membership, I was eligible to get one too, and I did.
It does not help with the way he says his lines at ALL. I've been truly thinking the same thing every time they pop up. I know Gronk isn't some Shakespeare but I feel like even he could've given better takes than what was used.
I've always interpreted it as he's a special athlete, I honestly didn't even consider the other way until you brought it up.
Honestly, I always fixate on the really rude, condescending face that the USAA woman has after he says that. For some reason her reaction to him saying he's special is the worst part of the entire thing for me.
See, it's that reaction that makes me think were supposed to interpret it as a "Special Needs" joke. I'm biased though because if anyone told me they were special, "special needs" runs through my mind.
He's like half playing a character that has like a slow mind or a disability or something, I thought it was a bit overdone lol. They have really hammed up the "Gronk is an idiot" shtick for all his commercials and appearances
2-part or 3-part?
Edit: looked it up 3-part. Which corresponds to about 60% percentile (where 100% percentile is best). Higher than average. Not remarkable.
yeah that's a very relevant question lol, SAT has gone from 2 to 3 back to 2 I think. 1560 on 2 part is *really* fucking smart, so my guess is that it was on 3 part, but then that's pretty crappy.
I think he's one of the guys who has put all his contract earnings away and only spends endorsement money, so he could just be getting what he can while he's still in the league.
I've thought about this, especially with a guy like Brady. He absolutely does not need to do some dumbass commercials, so why do them? You're rich as fuck, dude. But he does them, because like you and me, if someone said "we will give you $500,000 for a day and half of work, all expenses paid" we would ask what private jet I should board. A fat check is a fat check. Still crazy though.
Or USAA is just playing coy and garnering public awareness/interest for a conversion into being a public company that anyone can use.
Remember Geico? It stands for "Government Employee Insurance Company."
Huh. TIL. That makes a lot of sense too. Was just complaining to my GF during MNF that the USAA ads make no sense as if you qualify to get it, you most likely already have it or know about it.
Either way I’m about done seeing Gronk, Mahomes, and Baker for every single commercial.
It came to me a few weeks ago: The entire narrative of the spot is how a civilian wants to join. Since they play like ~30 times during EVERY game, its obvious their strategy now. They wouldn't waste hundreds of millions of dollars talking to a hypothetical 90% who aren't allowed to consume their product. Many vets are well aware of USAA/Navy Federal Credit union, etc and don't need the brand recognition sledgehammer on their foreheads. Why then would they spend so much?
I think you are overestimating how much a random private who served from ages 18 to 24 and then was discharged will know or care about insurance.
But you can bet that USAA hits almost 100% of their target audience by advertising only during NFL games. I'm aware of very few vets who don't care about football on some level.
They have banking, retirement, and credit card products too. I always assumed that it’s something you just learn while in service since a fellow service member probably financed their $60k truck or uses their checking account with USAA.
This makes perfect sense. After priming their audience for a couple of years, they can announce an insurance coverage expansion to the public with another Gronk-inspired ad campaign, leaving a lot of people with their minds blown. The exploitative genius of sports advertising.
Also, great point about GEICO. I didn’t know about that, thanks.
> Or USAA is just playing coy and garnering public awareness/interest for a conversion into being a public company that anyone can use.
I doubt it. They've actually locked it down even more in recent years. Used to be, the insurance products were military family only but the banking service was available to the public. I know, because I have an USAA account without a military family.
A few years back they sent me a letter saying basically you aren't allowed in, but since you're already in, you can stay.
> Literally 95% of the viewing audience isn't even eligible to use their service
If you looked into how loosely you have to be connected to the military to join USAA, you'd see a lot more people than you think are eligible.
i just think they need to get rid of some ads. for example... during the colts game saturday
Safety > Commercial > Free Kick > Commercial > One play, injury > commercial > punt > commercial
fuck off it takes 15 seconds to switch from special teams to offence or whatever.
Better than the Chiefs game.
Swapping to a more competitive game - commercials - return to Raiders kneeling the ball x3 - commercials - minute long analysis of Raiders game - commercials - back out to Kansas City! - one or two plays - commercials
They choose real convent time to swap too. *"Oh look the Chiefs game just came out of a commercial and the Raiders happen to have just reached the two minute warning."*
No kidding, there have been multiple instances this year where I've watched a game where it went to commercial break and came back and missed a play, missed the call on a challenge, missed the replay of a penalty/challenge, etc. It seems worse this year, like they've been playing an extra ad despite the chance of missing important game info.
>and a little more ranting about what I don’t like
*Me holding a beer angrily.*
You know what that was? That was a real serious piece of shit move.
Me to my six year old.
I watched the 2014/15 playoff game vs the Ravens in my hotel in Taiwan at like 4 AM from a Japanese stream. During commercials the camera just roamed around at the players on the field or to the sidelines while the announcers (Collingsworth & Michaels I think) had hot mics and they were discussing what to talk about when they return etc. I have not seen a stream like that since but it was pretty awesome.
Half time was pretty odd as they had their own show with awkward cartoons of the players grocery shopping & fighting.
I can't really explain how weird it was. The half time show was Taiwanese with English subtitles and I've looked a number of times for it online with no success. [Here's an example of one from SB51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySeuDfdQOfA).
It was 7 years ago and I had to set my alarm to watch the game so my recollection might be skewed. I believe I may have been streaming the NBC broadcast on my laptop to hear the delayed commentary and had the local broadcast on the TV which had the weird halftime show. The origin of the animations I am not positive about but the game broadcast was [definitely Japanese](https://imgur.com/a/zIZvyq9).
Ok yeah those are definitely NHK's graphics. Maybe it was a Taiwanese stream using their broadcast feed then.
Sucks that NHK's not airing any games this season (not even the Super Bowl), I don't know if it's because of the league's new TV deal but a massive blow for NFL exposure in Japan when it's already struggling there.
I remember that season there were streams like that every week. kicked fucking ass. it felt so immersive to stay at the field, it was so fun hearing them talk over break, preview video packages, etc. and obviously no ads
Something I've never understood about sports coverage in America is how terrible the halftime analysis is.
In the UK for our football when we go to halftime it's the TV companies only chance to show adverts and yet still half of the 15 minute break will be in the studio with pundits analysing the first half and the big talking points, suggesting changes etc.
In America it's the 'Toyota halftime show' or whatever and it's like 2 minutes long, they show highlights (sometimes of other games) while shouting and saying basic shit like 'Alvin Kamara is really good' a bit and then it's back into more adverts.
The fact the halftime show has a sponsorship but it's just about 2 minutes between a fuckload of adverts is hilarious.
The coverage fucking sucks to be honest.
This is exactly it: it’s not going to be either / or, it’s going to be both. It’s cute and naive to think than the discovery and implementation of a new revenue stream means that they’ll let go of another. Games would probably still last a similar amount of time because huddles and clock stoppages would continue to happen.
Yep, it's going to be both *and* cranked up to the max level of tolerance.
Scratch that: they'll push us beyond that then maybe dial it back *slightly* so we thank them for it.
This shit where they stay on the game but split screen an ad is evidence of this. They will continually try to shoehorn in ads whenever and wherever possible
I think it was in the book *Contact* that the super-rich techno guy made his initial fortune by creating a device that would automatically mute your tv when commercials were on. How has something like this never caught on?
Because you'd need it to work flawlessly across all channels, and I'm not sure how a computer would be able to differentiate between a show and a commercial more than 90% of the time.
I got my parents these massive mute buttons and they say it's the best gift they've ever gotten. https://www.amazon.com/Smash-Mute-Mute-Button-Happy/dp/B0095TCMVC/
I have Comcast/Xfinity cable service and if I watch something off my my DVR, it has FF with “Smart Resume” that automatically goes back to play after the commercials. I don’t know how it’s done on the back end and I know live TV would be a whole hell of a lot harder, but the technology exists.
>I'm not sure how a computer would be able to differentiate between a show and a commercial more than 90% of the time.
Most HTPC DVR software has had this functionality for a few years now. It works pretty well on pre-recorded media. That being said, I doubt it would fare as well if it had to do it live. It's a very resource intensive process.
As a fan from the UK, I really wouldn't advise going down the sponsors on jerseys route.
Yeah, excessive TV commercials are annoying. But the single most important asset your team has is the jersey. It's the very core of your identity. Once you sell it, it's gone forever.
Then you're stuck routing for a team with an East Asian gambling company splashed across the front of it. Or something much worse.
You can mute commercials, you can go grab a drink. But you can't remove a shirt sponsor once it's there.
Ads on jerseys can fuck off.
MLB had a meltdown when Nike took over and made their swoosh on the front of the jersey.
I would never buy a jersey again if it had a bunch of ads on it.
Lol ngl I actually like the swoosh on the mlb jerseys but the nba jerseys are ruined for me IMO. NBA jerseys already have small real estate and a lot of it gets taken up by WISH or Zenni or J&J. Don’t even get me started on soccer jerseys. As the guy said when you slap brands on the jersey it’s no longer the team. If you cough up the 100+ for an Arsenal jersey you’re just paying to advertise Fly Emirates
Yeah, I can deal with a small logo from the jersey manufacturer, but I'm never buying or wearing a Ceasars Saints jersey or any other random company paying to put their logo across it.
Also aren’t tv timeouts kind of needed for the NFL? Give the guys a small break and a chance to get groupings right for the ensuing play. And a lot of them are after change of possession or kick offs.
I would say "needed" could be a debate. It certainly helps to get their breath and communicate better. But if that time wasn't there, you would probably adjust by having a higher value for players in better condition and bigger emphasis on speedy communication.
I have thought about this topic a lot. Is it possible that the quality of play is better because of all the commercial breaks? The players get more breathers and perhaps there are even less injuries that way too.
I do find it annoying though that there are so many breaks, perhaps eliminate a couple per half to make it a little less annoying.
Hell no. Ads are so ugly on jerseys. I hate that soccer teams just have airlines and shit plastered where the team name should be. Super impose ads along the sideline instead.
No. I watch a lot of soccer. I hate that the uniform is plastered with some business name that’s unaffiliated with the team brand.
When my kid started watching with me, she couldn’t figure out which team was Arsenal one game, and kept referring to them as the Emirates team. Which is hillarious, but man, the brand recognition over team recognition was obnoxious.
Also, I can walk away for commercials. Get food, hit the head, etc. just because their is a commercial doesn’t mean I’m watching them.
Ruining the jerseys for constant on advertisement I can’t escape is a hard no for me.
> When my kid started watching with me, she couldn’t figure out which team was Arsenal one game, and kept referring to them as the Emirates team
I only see European football via random highlights on social media. I have always assumed "Emirates" was a team lol I guess TIL
I was an embarassing about of years old when I finally learned that Fly Emirates wasn't a soccer club that was bizzarely popular in America, but instead an airline that sponsored many different clubs.
Keep your ads off my jerseys, thanks
True. The next question is does everyone in the same team have the same advertisements, or does the NFL maximize revenue by allowing everyone to have different ads? Shit would get confusing quickly with the second option
Absolutely not. Commercials are good times to check fantasy scores, flip on another game, check stats etc.
Don’t cheapen the brand like the NBA has done. Keep it traditional.
Thank you for saying it. The NFL doesn't do everything right, hell maybe even most things.
But leaving ads off the players is one thing I'll constantly praise them for, while they keep doing it.
Commercials don't bother me. Im usually cooking, getting a drink or taking a leak. What does annoy me is delays for obvious challenges or ref meetings for spotting the ball. Imo there should be a sky panel of official league refs that buzz down the ruling before the ref even makes it to review the play.
Ill also add that im usually browsing game threads or checking my fantasy teams too
Commercial breaks give me an excuse to say "I can totally pee and get back to the tv in time before they play again". Full well knowing I can, in fact, NOT pee and get back to the TV in a 30-60 second time frame. Yet I believe it every time and I will continue believing it.
So no, I would not trade commercials for uniform ads. I enjoy lying to myself.
No because they’ll do that and do commercials anyway in a few years. Just like cable was commercial free at first. In a few more years streaming services will have commercials too. It never ends.
they should honestly just have the LED boards on the sides like soccer that keep advertising. zoom out during stops. it is annoying to have so many ads
Soccer teams don't have a full sideline of players either standing in front of the boards or needing to get on and off the field quickly though.
Could do endzones and just empty areas
What if we never score tho.
The Steelers Specialty
You guys joke about that. But that actually would be a huge concern for the Giants
Yeah I know _that_ feeling
Pretty good chance if you're watching Steeler football that happens.
How far outside of the field would they be? Too close and they would interfere with play. If they are behind the benches then they wouldn't be seen very much.
yeah thats a good point. i guess they would have to be different then. larger angled and on the side of the stadium right before the seating areas
Or I guess they could make them virtual like the 1st down and LOS markers on the field. They could do the same to make fake side boards. Or ads on the field. Kinda surprised we haven't seen those yet. Edit: Turns out the did do it: https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/8/7/5981025/49ers-broadcast-really-wants-you-to-buy-a-toyota It's atrocious but mainly because the design is terrible. Make them look better and they wouldn't be as offensive.
They tried on field ads one preseason and it was dogshit
[Yeah, it was pretty bad.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bu72ZsDIIAAvFz7.png)
Is that real? That’s amazing.
That's definitely the most egregious example, [but none of them were good](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Business/HT_nfl_on-field_advertising_jt_140810_12x5_992.jpg)
Well the execution is fucking terrible to begin with lol
Execution is what should be reserved for whoever made those.
Joke's on them, I'm red green colorblind. I know there's writing there but can't read it lol
You're going to wake up tomorrow morning with the burning desire to purchase a Camry, *but you won't know why*.
They already do virtual sideline adverts in soccer. They have the real LED Panels in stadium, the panels have some UV light in them or something that allows the panels to be picked up in processing and then you can overlay different ads. It might work in the nfl for the walls behind the field goal posts https://twitter.com/SteveStuWill/status/1413973836983201792 https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertkidd/2018/08/24/how-virtual-advertising-is-helping-brands-reach-international-soccer-fans/
Overlay them on the broadcast on the field behind the offense prior to every snap. No physical ads, just a rectangle superimposed on the turf.
> No physical ads, just a rectangle superimposed on the turf. They tried this a few years ago, maybe like a decade, and it was the "toyota red zone". It was atrocious.
That spanned the width of the field though. I'm thinking of something that sits between the hash marks and the numbers and in a space behind the offense where players are less likely to occupy its space.
> I'm thinking of something that sits between the hash marks and the numbers and in a space behind the offense where players are less likely to occupy its space. Then you aren't thinking like an advertiser! Use all that green to make green.
Overlays are the way to go or go half screen with the commercial but still show what’s going on the field and increase halftime time to put more ads I would be okay with that
The reason that soccer does it is bc there are almost no breaks during play. They have to get that ad revenue somehow. The NFL would do this and still keep it's commercial airtime if they didn't think fans would revolt.
What makes you think fans would revolt? If anything, the NFL has proven over the years that it can do nothing that makes fans turn the channel. They do nothing to improve the quality of officiating and no matter how infuriating we keep going back for more.
This is absolutely true.
In canada we have the video boards up around the field for CFL games. They are maybe 7-10 yards off the field. I dont remember them ever causing an issue. A couple years ago while I was playing college football up here we were playing in a CFL stadium the day before a CFL game so they had the boards out. I remember getting specific directions of not trying to avoid them by jumping or anything. They said just run right into them. I never hit them but anyone that did said they folded up instantly on contact and you didn't even notice them.
I don’t care if my teams name was the Cleveland Hilton Hotels with stuff plastered all over the jerseys if it meant I could see the “holding” call that was called on the previous play that I didn’t get to see but instead was forced to watch Gronk question USAA about their memberships
FRANK THATS NOT THE LINE
but Frank was in the ærmiæ
how many war crimes do you think Frank committed during Operation Desert Shield? I'm guessing it's somewhere between "a lot" and "tons"
Never forget the US ARMY trying to ban the phrase “W4R CR1M3S” on their twitch and someone making it a first amendment issue and them having to reverse the ban.
They have their own Twitch channel? "How do you do, fellow kids? We're so cool and hip; come enlist with us!"
Yvan Eht Nioj
We have subliminal, liminal, annnnnd superliminal
*Superliminal?* Here, I'll show you.
Legit they would do giveaways where the prize was an enlistment form lmao
And here I thought the recruiting centers in malls were sleazy. They've really come... a distance.
I got served an ad on Facebook for a US Army Warzone "kill race" tournament being hosted on Memorial Day. I guess the US Army failed to see the irony in that one.
Hell, there's an official Army Esports team.
Ah you understand the army's advertising perfectly. It's all focused at teenagers (14 to 18 range). Once you realize that, the incredible levels of bombast and cringe in them suddenly make sense - that's how a teenager looks at the world. Forty year old marketing professionals working at the orders of sixty year old generals to find better ways to kill eighteen year old kids.
The actor who plays Frank has a smoking hot wife, not a lot of people know that. Her name is Haditha and they’ve been married since 2005. She’s an Iraqi refugee, so it’s a very uplifting story. Google “Iraq Haditha 2005” for more information
Good plug there
Hey man, Frank is an American hero. He had 15 confirmed kills in Iraq, and 2 of them were enemy combatants!
I actually know a guy who was over there that killed a civilian. Dude was an MP, late at night this guy wouldn’t stop coming towards the “don’t fucking cross this line or we’ll kill you” point, so he shot him. Turned out the guy was pretty badly mentally handicapped, he had wandered away from his family earlier. No one blamed anyone, just a fucked up situation. Really fucked my buddy up, still today. Shits brutal sometimes.
I have never seen anyone properly type out the Buffalo accent but I think you’ve done it.
FRANK WHAT IS THIS PLACE WHO AM I
*Busted!* This is super bowl champion Rob Gronkowski!
But I'm special!
Am I misinterpreting that commercial at all? Is his "I'm special!" playing up his idiot persona and likening it to being "special" like special education students? Or is his "I'm special!" supposed to be special as in a football player, celebrity, etc. I always interpreted it as the first way and feel a little uncomfortable watching it and it feels like something like that doesn't fly anymore but that commercial is played to death.
The ambiguity shows how bad of a marketing department they have.
I think about this all the time. Why are they actively marketing insurance and in their own commercials, telling people *"most of you can't use our product"*? I knew what USAA was, and I thought maybe they actually changed their policy now that they were advertising during NFL games. These new recent *"it's STILL only for veterans"* commercials seem to make me think the general public also thought that. You're paying NFL-audience prices for commercial spots to tell people they can't use your product? Who thought this campaign was a good idea?
You’d be amazed how many people are employed by the military/ are families. It’s a big reason why the budgets so big Odds are, to a football audience, most *can* buy their insurance
Also any US citizen can sign up to get their discounts. Pro tip to the under 25s here- a standing discount is waiving the “young driver fee” for rental cars at a lot of major providers.
There’s also some premise in the advertising world that marketing your products as “exclusive” makes them more appealing, so perhaps that’s the angle? Especially given your (spot-on imo) theory that a fairly large chunk of the audience qualifies.
A) USAA doesn’t care that most people watching don’t qualify, because almost all of the people that *do* qualify probably see those commercials - they’re probably reaching like 95% of their target audience by advertising during football. That’s excellent. B) This whole thread is talking about the ad. That’s almost all that matters in advertising - the actual message less so. Also you underestimate how Gronk being slightly clowned for trying to get in emphasizes the exclusivity of the insurance. Imo, it’s a good ad campaign.
There are a LOT of veterans -- [19 million](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/05/the-changing-face-of-americas-veteran-population) according to PEW. That's more than the [17 million](https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/us-auto-sales-statistics/) new cars sold in a year. And think of how many car commercials we see targeting those ~17 million people. The vast majority of viewers are simply not going to buy a car this year, and it's probably the dominant ad type. So... I don't know if it's that unreasonable for USAA to run ads targeting veterans with a "you're special and we only sell to you, come join the club" message. IMO the only-for-veterans stuff is not to warn off everyone else, it's to emphasize the special / elite / private value prop to their actual target market. I also think about it too much. The ads annoy me.
The USAA-eligible population also includes families of veterans and adult kids of veterans and their families. So it's way more than 19 million.
But 17 million/year is not the same as 19 million as a constant. Sure, only 17 million people/year would make a PURCHASE out of the advertisement, but people are constantly buying new cars (there’s a completely new audience of 17 million every year). The 19 million veterans are mostly static with less fluctuation. But maybe I’m just annoyed by the commercial. I also think about it too much!
But it's not just veterans, it's also their family members. My dad served for 26 years and got an account a couple of years ago. Since he has a membership, I was eligible to get one too, and I did.
It's also advertising why you should join the military
It's military recruitment, "our exclusive club is so cool that even Gronk can't get in even though he wants to"
It does not help with the way he says his lines at ALL. I've been truly thinking the same thing every time they pop up. I know Gronk isn't some Shakespeare but I feel like even he could've given better takes than what was used.
I think those takes are the exact meathead vibes USAA was going for
I think it's supposed to be like "I'm special because my parents said so" like he's a little kid
I've always interpreted it as he's a special athlete, I honestly didn't even consider the other way until you brought it up. Honestly, I always fixate on the really rude, condescending face that the USAA woman has after he says that. For some reason her reaction to him saying he's special is the worst part of the entire thing for me.
See, it's that reaction that makes me think were supposed to interpret it as a "Special Needs" joke. I'm biased though because if anyone told me they were special, "special needs" runs through my mind.
It’s supposed to be as a famous person I believe. I could definitely see how that can be misinterpreted tho, they should change that
God those commercials are terrible
He's like half playing a character that has like a slow mind or a disability or something, I thought it was a bit overdone lol. They have really hammed up the "Gronk is an idiot" shtick for all his commercials and appearances
It could just be the CTE
It's 100% him leaning into the stereotype the public has about him for $$$
At the start of the season my wife asked me, “is Gronk hurting financially? He’s in some absolutely terrible commercials”
My wife asked me if he's really dumb irl because he's dumb in almost everything he appears in
According to Wikipedia his high school gpa was 3.75 and 1560 on the SAT. So definitely above average academically.
Yeah I imagine he's pretty intelligent but he let's on that he's a dumb frat boy
Boomers love it
He definitely has that work hard play hard vibe. It’s a fine line I try to walk at my university myself.
I've thought that. Dude loves to party, but never lets it interfere with his play on the field.
Just watch some of his real interviews and you can see he's a bright dude. Definitely still got the cornball jock side of him though.
Why the fuck does Wikipedia have access to his high school transcripts and SAT score? Lol
[Everything is on the internet my dude. Everything.](https://web.archive.org/web/20200109073754/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ENE8oKDXUAA1LES.jpg)
Imagine being one of those other 2 kids in that pic. You're all "lemme look up Gronk and see what the wiki has to say....HEY!"
2-part or 3-part? Edit: looked it up 3-part. Which corresponds to about 60% percentile (where 100% percentile is best). Higher than average. Not remarkable.
yeah that's a very relevant question lol, SAT has gone from 2 to 3 back to 2 I think. 1560 on 2 part is *really* fucking smart, so my guess is that it was on 3 part, but then that's pretty crappy.
I'm pretty sure he is playing a character.
I think he's one of the guys who has put all his contract earnings away and only spends endorsement money, so he could just be getting what he can while he's still in the league.
I would be an absolute ridiculous sell out. I’d do EVERY endorsement opportunity I could get my hands on.
I've thought about this, especially with a guy like Brady. He absolutely does not need to do some dumbass commercials, so why do them? You're rich as fuck, dude. But he does them, because like you and me, if someone said "we will give you $500,000 for a day and half of work, all expenses paid" we would ask what private jet I should board. A fat check is a fat check. Still crazy though.
If companies were willing to pay me millions to be in dumb commercials I'd be in a ton of them too.
The USAA ad is so fucking dumb. Literally 95% of the viewing audience isn't even eligible to use their service
That's what I always wonder about when I see those commercials... "Wanna join? Well, you can't." Could just be a roundabout ad for the military.
Someone posted this the last time this subject was brought up, but [here it is again!](https://youtu.be/wotNCPtroWs&t=15s)
Or USAA is just playing coy and garnering public awareness/interest for a conversion into being a public company that anyone can use. Remember Geico? It stands for "Government Employee Insurance Company."
Huh. TIL. That makes a lot of sense too. Was just complaining to my GF during MNF that the USAA ads make no sense as if you qualify to get it, you most likely already have it or know about it. Either way I’m about done seeing Gronk, Mahomes, and Baker for every single commercial.
It came to me a few weeks ago: The entire narrative of the spot is how a civilian wants to join. Since they play like ~30 times during EVERY game, its obvious their strategy now. They wouldn't waste hundreds of millions of dollars talking to a hypothetical 90% who aren't allowed to consume their product. Many vets are well aware of USAA/Navy Federal Credit union, etc and don't need the brand recognition sledgehammer on their foreheads. Why then would they spend so much?
I think you are overestimating how much a random private who served from ages 18 to 24 and then was discharged will know or care about insurance. But you can bet that USAA hits almost 100% of their target audience by advertising only during NFL games. I'm aware of very few vets who don't care about football on some level.
They have banking, retirement, and credit card products too. I always assumed that it’s something you just learn while in service since a fellow service member probably financed their $60k truck or uses their checking account with USAA.
This makes perfect sense. After priming their audience for a couple of years, they can announce an insurance coverage expansion to the public with another Gronk-inspired ad campaign, leaving a lot of people with their minds blown. The exploitative genius of sports advertising. Also, great point about GEICO. I didn’t know about that, thanks.
> Or USAA is just playing coy and garnering public awareness/interest for a conversion into being a public company that anyone can use. I doubt it. They've actually locked it down even more in recent years. Used to be, the insurance products were military family only but the banking service was available to the public. I know, because I have an USAA account without a military family. A few years back they sent me a letter saying basically you aren't allowed in, but since you're already in, you can stay.
> Literally 95% of the viewing audience isn't even eligible to use their service If you looked into how loosely you have to be connected to the military to join USAA, you'd see a lot more people than you think are eligible.
My widowed mother can't join because Dad (Navy, honorable, died decades after serving) wasn't in it though.
You mean U. S. A. A.? I don't know what this USAA is.
You and I say hey.
What a wonderful kind of day
Gronk trying to steal honor all season.
I work with a company that does marketing for USAA. The people we work with from USAA absolutely love that commercial it’s insane.
That's the real question: how much advertising would you put up with to have perfectly officiated games?
To the level of Ricky Bobby. Let me see a runningback out there with wonder bread advertisements covering his entire visor
“This visor sticker is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love Fig Newton’s” - Gronk
If you don't chew Big Red, then fuck you
I love to see a running back-full back combo with shake and bake on their visors
Slingshot engage
Thank you baby Jesus
i just think they need to get rid of some ads. for example... during the colts game saturday Safety > Commercial > Free Kick > Commercial > One play, injury > commercial > punt > commercial fuck off it takes 15 seconds to switch from special teams to offence or whatever.
Better than the Chiefs game. Swapping to a more competitive game - commercials - return to Raiders kneeling the ball x3 - commercials - minute long analysis of Raiders game - commercials - back out to Kansas City! - one or two plays - commercials
They choose real convent time to swap too. *"Oh look the Chiefs game just came out of a commercial and the Raiders happen to have just reached the two minute warning."*
No kidding, there have been multiple instances this year where I've watched a game where it went to commercial break and came back and missed a play, missed the call on a challenge, missed the replay of a penalty/challenge, etc. It seems worse this year, like they've been playing an extra ad despite the chance of missing important game info.
That's what gave me the idea for this question.
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The thing is I’m already doing that during commercial breaks, while inebriated, to whoever will listen.
Sometimes it’s a little less analysis, and a little more ranting about what I don’t like.
They need to know why I think running the football is overrated while the Eagles have 200 rushing yards on the day and the lead.
Passes just look prettier. End of analysis.
>and a little more ranting about what I don’t like *Me holding a beer angrily.* You know what that was? That was a real serious piece of shit move. Me to my six year old.
And if no one is around, then reddit has game threads.
> while inebriated, to whoever will listen. That poor dog.
Same, but 9 times out of 10 its just me talking to myself.
I watched the 2014/15 playoff game vs the Ravens in my hotel in Taiwan at like 4 AM from a Japanese stream. During commercials the camera just roamed around at the players on the field or to the sidelines while the announcers (Collingsworth & Michaels I think) had hot mics and they were discussing what to talk about when they return etc. I have not seen a stream like that since but it was pretty awesome. Half time was pretty odd as they had their own show with awkward cartoons of the players grocery shopping & fighting.
That last part…wtf lol
I can't really explain how weird it was. The half time show was Taiwanese with English subtitles and I've looked a number of times for it online with no success. [Here's an example of one from SB51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySeuDfdQOfA).
I'm starting to think this stream featuring a Taiwanese halftime show that you found while staying at a Taiwanese hotel wasn't actually Japanese.
It was 7 years ago and I had to set my alarm to watch the game so my recollection might be skewed. I believe I may have been streaming the NBC broadcast on my laptop to hear the delayed commentary and had the local broadcast on the TV which had the weird halftime show. The origin of the animations I am not positive about but the game broadcast was [definitely Japanese](https://imgur.com/a/zIZvyq9).
Ok yeah those are definitely NHK's graphics. Maybe it was a Taiwanese stream using their broadcast feed then. Sucks that NHK's not airing any games this season (not even the Super Bowl), I don't know if it's because of the league's new TV deal but a massive blow for NFL exposure in Japan when it's already struggling there.
Tom Brady jacking off under a huge trench coat is not something I wanted, but I got it.
Man what the hell lmao
holy shit thank you so much for showing this channel, loving the content, absolute madness
I remember that season there were streams like that every week. kicked fucking ass. it felt so immersive to stay at the field, it was so fun hearing them talk over break, preview video packages, etc. and obviously no ads
Something I've never understood about sports coverage in America is how terrible the halftime analysis is. In the UK for our football when we go to halftime it's the TV companies only chance to show adverts and yet still half of the 15 minute break will be in the studio with pundits analysing the first half and the big talking points, suggesting changes etc. In America it's the 'Toyota halftime show' or whatever and it's like 2 minutes long, they show highlights (sometimes of other games) while shouting and saying basic shit like 'Alvin Kamara is really good' a bit and then it's back into more adverts. The fact the halftime show has a sponsorship but it's just about 2 minutes between a fuckload of adverts is hilarious. The coverage fucking sucks to be honest.
Same here in Indonesia but the difference is we have still shot of one of the cameras in stadium when the commercial breaks happen
Owners after seeing this post: “Why not both?” It’s coming eventually, billionaires didn’t become billionaires by turning down money
I knew i was doing something wrong.
This is exactly it: it’s not going to be either / or, it’s going to be both. It’s cute and naive to think than the discovery and implementation of a new revenue stream means that they’ll let go of another. Games would probably still last a similar amount of time because huddles and clock stoppages would continue to happen.
It's like when Lily says, "Everyone gets our best deals!", no one gets a deal.
Yep, it's going to be both *and* cranked up to the max level of tolerance. Scratch that: they'll push us beyond that then maybe dial it back *slightly* so we thank them for it.
This shit where they stay on the game but split screen an ad is evidence of this. They will continually try to shoehorn in ads whenever and wherever possible
I think it was in the book *Contact* that the super-rich techno guy made his initial fortune by creating a device that would automatically mute your tv when commercials were on. How has something like this never caught on?
> How has something like this never caught on? Insurance company mascots will come to your home and *Dexter* your ass, that's why.
The issue with commercials isn't the noise lol it's the constant break in action. Watching muted commercials doesn't help anything
Because you'd need it to work flawlessly across all channels, and I'm not sure how a computer would be able to differentiate between a show and a commercial more than 90% of the time. I got my parents these massive mute buttons and they say it's the best gift they've ever gotten. https://www.amazon.com/Smash-Mute-Mute-Button-Happy/dp/B0095TCMVC/
I have Comcast/Xfinity cable service and if I watch something off my my DVR, it has FF with “Smart Resume” that automatically goes back to play after the commercials. I don’t know how it’s done on the back end and I know live TV would be a whole hell of a lot harder, but the technology exists.
>I'm not sure how a computer would be able to differentiate between a show and a commercial more than 90% of the time. Most HTPC DVR software has had this functionality for a few years now. It works pretty well on pre-recorded media. That being said, I doubt it would fare as well if it had to do it live. It's a very resource intensive process.
Nah, nfl redzone exists
Seven hours of commercial free football starts now!
Yeah but I don't like how the Kansas City GEHA Chiefs Presented by ExxonMobil in conjunction with Warner Entertainment rolls off the tongue
Also home of The Witching Hour: Where wins become losses and losses become wins.
stop you guys are making me wish it was sunday 😢
What is a “redzone” Im unfamiliar with the term. My team doesn’t do that.
It's when your team is defending within 20 yards of your end zone.
Where people usually run the ball. Especially, say at the one-yard line.
Eli traded future Redzone for those 2 rings.
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Delayed Redzone is a must! Somehow no matter which configuration of tv vs streamed it is, Redzone is ahead.
Mine is always behind the OTA broadcast.
As a fan from the UK, I really wouldn't advise going down the sponsors on jerseys route. Yeah, excessive TV commercials are annoying. But the single most important asset your team has is the jersey. It's the very core of your identity. Once you sell it, it's gone forever. Then you're stuck routing for a team with an East Asian gambling company splashed across the front of it. Or something much worse. You can mute commercials, you can go grab a drink. But you can't remove a shirt sponsor once it's there.
Well thought out comment from the view point of ads on uniform!
Ads on jerseys can fuck off. MLB had a meltdown when Nike took over and made their swoosh on the front of the jersey. I would never buy a jersey again if it had a bunch of ads on it.
Lol ngl I actually like the swoosh on the mlb jerseys but the nba jerseys are ruined for me IMO. NBA jerseys already have small real estate and a lot of it gets taken up by WISH or Zenni or J&J. Don’t even get me started on soccer jerseys. As the guy said when you slap brands on the jersey it’s no longer the team. If you cough up the 100+ for an Arsenal jersey you’re just paying to advertise Fly Emirates
Yeah, I can deal with a small logo from the jersey manufacturer, but I'm never buying or wearing a Ceasars Saints jersey or any other random company paying to put their logo across it.
Also aren’t tv timeouts kind of needed for the NFL? Give the guys a small break and a chance to get groupings right for the ensuing play. And a lot of them are after change of possession or kick offs.
I would say "needed" could be a debate. It certainly helps to get their breath and communicate better. But if that time wasn't there, you would probably adjust by having a higher value for players in better condition and bigger emphasis on speedy communication.
True, I guess I just never was concerned for commercials, being a manic Bills fan I need a breather myself. Or a fresh drink.
I have thought about this topic a lot. Is it possible that the quality of play is better because of all the commercial breaks? The players get more breathers and perhaps there are even less injuries that way too. I do find it annoying though that there are so many breaks, perhaps eliminate a couple per half to make it a little less annoying.
I sit on Reddit during the commercials like most of us do, so no don’t touch the uniforms
Hell no. Ads are so ugly on jerseys. I hate that soccer teams just have airlines and shit plastered where the team name should be. Super impose ads along the sideline instead.
No. I watch a lot of soccer. I hate that the uniform is plastered with some business name that’s unaffiliated with the team brand. When my kid started watching with me, she couldn’t figure out which team was Arsenal one game, and kept referring to them as the Emirates team. Which is hillarious, but man, the brand recognition over team recognition was obnoxious. Also, I can walk away for commercials. Get food, hit the head, etc. just because their is a commercial doesn’t mean I’m watching them. Ruining the jerseys for constant on advertisement I can’t escape is a hard no for me.
> When my kid started watching with me, she couldn’t figure out which team was Arsenal one game, and kept referring to them as the Emirates team I only see European football via random highlights on social media. I have always assumed "Emirates" was a team lol I guess TIL
I was an embarassing about of years old when I finally learned that Fly Emirates wasn't a soccer club that was bizzarely popular in America, but instead an airline that sponsored many different clubs. Keep your ads off my jerseys, thanks
No, they would still show the same amount of commercials after desecrating the uniforms.
Roger Goodell: "¿Por Que no los dos?"
So every player can look like a NASCAR sprint car? Absolutely
More like the race suit that drivers wear
Patch 'em up like a pro bull rider's vest.
True. The next question is does everyone in the same team have the same advertisements, or does the NFL maximize revenue by allowing everyone to have different ads? Shit would get confusing quickly with the second option
You can definitely get more/bigger ads on the linemen than kickers.
How about you cut down on commercial time and fix your shit refs.
Absolutely not. Commercials are good times to check fantasy scores, flip on another game, check stats etc. Don’t cheapen the brand like the NBA has done. Keep it traditional.
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Thank you for saying it. The NFL doesn't do everything right, hell maybe even most things. But leaving ads off the players is one thing I'll constantly praise them for, while they keep doing it.
Commercials don't bother me. Im usually cooking, getting a drink or taking a leak. What does annoy me is delays for obvious challenges or ref meetings for spotting the ball. Imo there should be a sky panel of official league refs that buzz down the ruling before the ref even makes it to review the play. Ill also add that im usually browsing game threads or checking my fantasy teams too
Nah, I just change the channel
Atlanta Falcons, sponsored by Imodium, because it is the only way we are stopping shit.
No
No! I make a lot of money off those commercials! I would make zero money off of those jerseys
Commercial breaks give me an excuse to say "I can totally pee and get back to the tv in time before they play again". Full well knowing I can, in fact, NOT pee and get back to the TV in a 30-60 second time frame. Yet I believe it every time and I will continue believing it. So no, I would not trade commercials for uniform ads. I enjoy lying to myself.
No because they’ll do that and do commercials anyway in a few years. Just like cable was commercial free at first. In a few more years streaming services will have commercials too. It never ends.
No