sjbooher: Beautiful. A.
jtherkal: Show me just about anything in sports, at this speed, in HD and I will buy your product. Which in this case is the NFL. Which I buy from Direct TV. The fansThat song was used in the Where the Wild Things Are commercial. And I guess fans in HD aren’t as good as Reggie. A-.
jtherkal: Good, I guess? It’s probably not PC to give this a bad grade? Yawn. C+.
sjbooher: Dude… CBS Cares. Don’t you get it, jtherkal? Woman HEART Mark Sanchez. Mark Sanchez HEARTS women’s hearts. Get it? A.
jtherkal: The best male-targeted shampoo commercials ever made. Isn’t it? No. Isn’t it? Yes. If you’re going to talk to me about shampoo during a football game, find a way to do it without showing some guy soaping up in the shower. You asked with your eyes, Trent. You asked with your eyes.
It’s possible I have beard dandruff. Can it treat that? A.
sjbooher:Last year, I thought the NFL story ad incorporated the good aspects of a “based on a true story” movie — not so much this year. If last year’s version was a wide-release, nationwide movie, this year’s is a made for TV joint. The interview portions are engaging and interesting, but the scripted portions are garbage. D+.
jtherkal: Agree. Totally. Someone probably said, “let’s make it more exciting.” Which translated into trash. Booooooo. D.
jtherkal: Yes! Yes, NFL, I will. I love the song, I love the visuals, and I love football. DirectTV is already billing me for my NFL Sunday Ticket. So this starts to get me fired up. The only thing is, I still think Reebok mostly sucks. Most people probably mistake this for an NFL ad. I guess since Reebok is the official outfitter of the NFL, it sort of doesn’t matter which you think it is. Peyton Manning bangs out the first of what will probably be another 1000 commercials during the upcoming season. And Eli Manning gets one in the books, even though he looks like a nerd. Maybe he’ll get some charisma when he grows up. For the NFL, A. For Reebok branding, D+.
We would be remiss not to mention that Warren Sapp also retired from football on the same day as Brett Favre. So in honor of Warren’s departure, we’re going to do the same for him as we did for Brett. So here, in all their glory, are the two Warren Sapp commercials we found on YouTube. See ya, Warren. Now you can eat all of the cheeseburgers you want.
ESPN Football Video Game
jtherkal: Warren, just sit there and look confused. Not hard direction to follow when you have Tracy Morgan yapping in your ear. Morgan is best in small doses, and this is just the right amount of him to be good. That “wanawanawaaaaww” kills me. Warren: A ESPN: A
sjbooher: To be fair, though, Warren has a ton more personality than they used in this spot. That being said, this is classic material. The words “Every day I do!” have passed through my lips countless times as a result of this ad. Classic material. Warren: C+ ESPN: A+.
NFL Network
jtherkal: Holy lord, he looks fat here. Boring and lame. Warren: D NFL Network: F
sjbooher: Jesus, that’s one big man. A decent setup, as I’m thinking: “What’s he smiling about?”. The punchline was awful, though. Warren: C+ NFL Network: D
I also remember some sort of Nike Boing ad, where perhaps someone was wearing a giant football helmet? I couldn’t find it, but the fact that I remember it earns Warren and Nike both A’s.
(image by GVD)
In honor of Brett Favre’s retirement from professional football, we here at irateads.com are taking a moment to remember him and thank him for all the years of hatred and joy he has brought us by rating every Brett Favre ad we can find on YouTube. I grew up a Lions fan, so for most of my life I hated Brett Favre with the intensity of 1000 suns. Then he got old and flawed and gristled. And I grew to love him for his passion and the way he played the game of football. Just a good ol’ boy out there having some fun on a Sunday. It’s a shame no one every harnessed his pure goodness in the perfect advertising campaign–some came close…
Mastercard Ad
jtherkal: The Priceless campaign seems to always have pretty good work and this is no exception. Monday morning quarterback, get it? You know Brett would’ve double bagged it. Brett: A. Mastercard: B+.
sjbooher: Love it. What he said. And I love consistent campaigns that work and brand your product… although I still don’t understand credit card advertising in general, really. Brett: A+. Mastercard: A+.
Rayovac Batteries
jtherkal: You’re Brett Favre, you are America, you are football. And you choose to endorse Rayovac? If you’re Rayovac, every endorsement wet dream you’ve ever had is coming true as Brett reads your shitty tag line to the camera. If you’re Brett, you have to be thinking: where’s Energizer? Brett: F Rayovac: C-
sjbooher: Ho-hum. It’s a good effort by Rayovac to get their name out there, and I like the football-themed, “Laaaaaaabeau Fiiieeeeld”-esque voiceover guy that’s really just an employee. And it’s true, Brett is simply a pretty face, in this one. I have to ask this, though. Do people really get suckered in by moneyback guarantees? Is any consumer buying Energizers and Rayovacs then taking them home to see which one powers their flashlight longer? If it makes people buy your product, it’s genius, as probably about 0% of people ever pull your card. The jury (meaning my opinion) is still out on that aspect of this one. Brett: C-. Rayovac: C+.
Nike
jtherkal: I guess it’s from 1997, so the fact that the music feels all wrong might not be accurate. Maybe in 1997 it was perfect. The fact that this was from over 10 years ago and would still work as an ad today is a testament to Brett Favre and to Nike. Brett: A Nike: A-
sjbooher: To me, this would still work because it’s boring as hell. Maybe that’s because it’s been drilled into my head over and over again how much of a loose cannon Favre is on the field. Maybe this worked better during that time, but I hated Brett Favre then, so I probably would have liked it even less. And what is Nike even advertising? Are they selling Brett Favre figurines? Just the overall brand, I guess, but it’s more of a Favre ad than a Nike ad. Brett: C-. Nike: D.
Bergstrom
jtherkal: Ugh. I guess Brett is a hometown hero, so you’re bound to get some of these. This was played at Lambeau field during a game. I’m sure thousands of drunk Packer fans stopped in their tracks to watch Brett deliver this boring-ass endorsement. But fresh cookies? That’s worth something. Brett: D Bergstrom: D
sjbooher: The fresh cookies alone makes this a great ad. In a town like Green Bay, I’m not even sure if the consumers have much of a choice, when it comes to auto dealerships, and they definitely do not after this ad. Maybe it’s preaching to the choir, but it’s a slam dunk. Brett: B. Bergstrom: A+.
Bergstrom — Smart Car
jtherkal: 16 years? Well, Brett, that’s a commitment to your sponsors. That’s the kind of All-American leadership and dedication we like to see. But Smart Cars? In Wisconsin? I can’t think of a worse place to have a smart car. I’m sure those handle great in a foot of snow. What, did the dealership accidentally fill check the wrong box on their order form? Brett Favre is not the man to be selling Smart Cars. Brett sells trucks, idiots. Brett: D Bergstrom: F
sjbooher: Yeah, this is just plain weird. Brett puts in a fine effort though, as we works with what they give him, just like he did every Sunday for the Packers. While I question Bergstrom’s decision to sell this car in the first place, I’m here to rate the ad, and it’s pretty good. It’s informative and they use their ace-in-the-hole, Brett Favre, in an attempt to sell a possibly unsellable product. And that jingle is quality work — Berrrrg-strooooom They can give a great deal more!. Brett: B. Bergstrom B.
Prilosec
jtherkal: Brett driving some sort of bulldozer? Brett walking in the woods with his dogs, Brett sawing logs! Brett cookin’ crawfish for the boys Brett chillin’ on the dock with his daughter (I assume) Brett throwin’ the pigskin. Yup. That’s just Brett being Brett. Prilosec understands, Brett Favre IS AMERICA! It doesn’t really matter what the product is. Brett: A Prilosec: A
sjbooher: Chalk this up to an ad that worked for at least one consumer. This ad aired right around the time I figured out that I have acid problems and, thanks to Brett, I went out and gave it a whirl. So I guess I can’t too critical, but I do have some issues with this one. While it’s awesome to have Brett doing all that stuff… WHAT THE HELL DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH HEARTBURN? Only one activity is relevant — the crawlfish eating. “Day 5, I just chilled”. And you can’t do that with heartburn? Weird. Brett: A+. Prilosec: C+.
Edge Pro Gel
jtherkal: If you can shave Brett’s man-face, you can shave anything. That’s the selling point here. Edge missed it, you still have Brett shaving. Brett: A Edge: C+
sjbooher: Now that way know “5 o’clock shadow” Brett so well, it’s hard to think of it as a good thing he’s shaving. Also, maybe Reggie forgot to look in the mirror, because he has a goatee, so he sorta didn’t shave either! Anyway, this a fun, playful ad that gets the point across, although it is a bit dated now. Brett: C. Edge: C+.
3-A-Day Dairy
jtherkal: Can we even count this? Was that Brett we saw at 00:28? I think it was. So let me say this: shame on you 3-A-Day. Brett Favre is the face of Wisconsin, the home of cheese. And all you can do is slip him in at the end? No one even cares about those other people. Unless they’re somehow famous people with strong bones and healthy bodies from states known for their diary products, why even bother? Brett: A 3-A-Day: F
sjbooher: It’s not completely Brett-centric, but good nonetheless. Look at those tasty dairy treats. What my cohort may be forgetting is that Favre was not always the picture of wholesome goodness. He went through some painkiller and alcohol addiction days when companies may have shied away from him a bit. Brett: Incomplete. 3-A-Day: B.
Wrangler
jtherkal: I can’t even begin to explain how disappointed I was to not find Brett’s Wrangler commercial anywhere. This is the best I could do. In its original form, the Wrangler commercial is the 100% correct usage of Brett Favre. You walk away with a crystal clear message: Brett Favre is America, Wrangler Jeans are America. For some reason the ridiculousness of pairing this with Mims makes me laugh. Hilarious. Someone spent an afternoon cutting that together. Wild. Strange Video: B- Brett: A+ Wrangler: A+
sjbooher: This is easily my favorite all-time Brett Favre ad. It nails the Wrangler brand image 100%. Perfect. Brett: A+. Wrangler: A+
NFL
jtherkal: How apropos. It is hard to say goodbye. We’ll miss you Brett, even though we sometimes hated you. Brett: A NFL: A
sjbooher: Every cloud has a silver-lining. Now we won’t have to endure another year of “Will he retire? Will he comeback?” debates. Brett: A. NFL: A+
jtherkal:
Oboe fans around the world were going crazy; someone was finally giving their instrument some love. But no. The point of this is not that playing the oboe is a respected and rewarding experience. The point is that if you’re a giant black man, your dream must be to play professional sports. I mean, can you imagine a large person with dark skin wanting a normal life and simply enjoying playing his instrument?
That being said, I love football, I love the NFL and this was a nice story. B.
sjbooher:
I like this one. It’s like a good “based on a true story” movie; it contains all of the facts with enough flare added to keep it interesting. Salaam tells the story in a funny way, and I love when the coach says “You play the oboe”. Funny, heart-warming, and completely unnecessary since the Super Bowl and the NFL already has a kajillion viewers. B-