So now that we’ve gotten Blago out of our hair (or vice-versa), let’s turn our attention to the Super Bowl or “big game” for non-advertisers who want to leverage the event for marketing purposes. The news arrived today that NBC has rejected PETA’s Super Bowl TV spot.
Apparently, the anti-fur people had an epiphany that sex (and vegetables) sell, and to prove it, they set out to make Go Daddy blush. As one who has worked his share of Super Bowl ad campaigns — including three successive years publicizing HotJobs spots — I would say that the rejection bodes well PR-wise for PETA.
You may remember that HotJobs’s first TV spot also was rejected. That rejection single-handedly elevated the dot-com’s brand to cult status in an age when building new brands was a sport in and of itself. The online job board eventually pushed its Super Bowl fame into Yahoo’s arms for a gazillion dollars.
But that was then. YouTube and video sharing were just a glimmer in Chad’s and Steve’s eyes.
We can now expect that rejected PETA spot, featuring scantilly clad women with veggies, from pumpkins to broccoli, to enjoy an even greater life than it would have alone on the Super Bowl. (It also makes better viewing than seeing some fur-wearing fashion figure getting splattered with blood.)