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The new NBC Sports Network just keeps cranking out the fantastic Major League Soccer promos for the upcoming 17th season. Whoever is behind them in the NBC marketing department is nailing it.
Each of the ads we've seen now have really touched a chord with us and the greater American soccer community. The dedication in tapping into the core elements of what makes this sport great is on display with each of their spots. And it all started with a tiny, 20 second promo during a National Football League game to really get American soccer fans thinking that maybe, this time, a sports network would be good to us. Because we've been hurt before.
Then came the "warm up" commercial featuring a few of the lesser-known members of the Los Angeles Galaxy (basically anyone not named Donovan, Beckham, or Keane) which touched a hopeful, yet down-to-earth approach. Signalling that NBC was, perhaps, going to spend good time building the narrative of the players of this league (a good thing for newbies to American soccer).
The last ad we saw from NBC Sports was, of course, the "dangling piece of meat" spot focusing on the momentary, yet massive battle for time and space that is a corner kick. A video that appealed both to the veteran fan for its poetic nature of the event and the newbie that could explain how what seems to the untrained-eye as an inconsequential event it actually one of great importance.
By the time their fourth advertisement hit today it was pretty much a given that the camera would be turned from the field to the stands. Much like the corner kick ad, the appeal in NBC's approach is a powerful narrative that can move both novice and passionate supporter at the same time. A tough balance to strike to engage someone who knows less about soccer or American soccer and the died-hard, but the evolution of these ads proves that it can be done.
Check it out (if it doesn't play:... try directly on the MLS website)
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Mr. Dir,
ReplyDeleteSoccer/Football/Calcio is very exciting!
That said, I have no doubt you'd deeply regret "punching me in the face", if I said "soccer is boring."
God