Tom Brady should keep his day job
Recently, Comcast has come out with a marketing campaign for their new 'Xfinity' cable service with an emphasis on all the NFL action it brings to the table. This is a great idea for them, as the 2010 NFL season is about to kick off and the majority of Americans cannot get enough of things football. The marketing people also decided to have a major NFL star be the face of their campaign. Unfortunately, ol' Peyton Manning already had enough endorsements to do. So Comcast got the other popular white QB, Tom Brady to do the job. We all know Tom Brady is liked by the ladies for his manly features and butthole chin (Ok, those who like his face wouldn't call it that). He has also done some acting before, appearing on Saturday Night Live and many other commercials. On paper, it sounds like a great choice.
As an avid consumer of media, I often get to witness an overlap of commercials between television and radio (and print and digital, etc, etc). The aforementioned advertisement with Mr. Brady runs on both my local cable service as well as my local radio stations and its constant running is why I decided to bring this issue up. Both the tv and radio versions are basically the same commercial, with the dialogue being the focal point. This is where the trouble starts. Whoever was Tom's acting coach the day they shot the advertisement must have been hungover, didn't care or just didn't exist. The result is an ad that sounds like a high school drama student reading right off a poorly written script. There are attempts by the 2-time super bowl MVP to change inflection and pacing so it sounds like he's having an actual conversation with the interested client, but most of the dialogue comes up short. Every time I hear this ad played, my first instinct is to change the channel or station, just so I don't have to witness more of the train wreck (anti-rubbernecking?). The television version is even worse, as it looks like Brady needs his joints to be oiled or something. Nothing is more noticeable to me than awkward hand placement.
I know Tom Brady's selling points are not his acting chops. I know most people don't care how an NFL player says words. They could also care less if he looks like a total stiff in a suit in front of a camera. But why put him in this situation? Why not just let real actors say the script while Tom looks nice in the background. I'm sure the ad wizards expected him to do a bit better given his previous 'acting' experience, but about the time they went for the twentieth take, perhaps a rewrite would be in order. For me, I would rather have a well executed advertisement than a pile of doodoo with some famous glitter sprinkled on top. This is especially true if that same ad is going to be played on the radio. If you still need Tom's magical voice somewhere on that radio ad, work around his skills. Use humor to get by his inability. Do something besides a clumsy reading that almost comes off as soliloquy.
Personally, I am not a Brady fan, but I don't really have anything against somebody marketing themselves. He was probably offered a briefcase full of money and just went with it. I blame it more on the heads of the advertising department for putting me through the atrocity of the commercial. Using a famous face to sell you product is almost always a good idea, but when that face becomes more distraction than promotion, you lose all of that advantage. Now I mentally picture Tom Brady talking like a robot in his huddles during games. It's funny, but not in a way that benefits the NFL or Comcast.
This is how it is done well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzToNo7A-94
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