Yesterday, Joe Flacco awakened as simply another among the long list of quarterbacks who would start their first Super Bowl. Today, he’s going to Walt Disney World – at least that’s what he said in the commercial I saw at 5:22 a.m. on ESPN2 – then he’ll soon walk into Ravens owner Steve Biscotti’s office and say, “Time to pay up, sir.”
Reports are the Super Bowl MVP, who just completed the five-year contract he signed out of college, could warrant a new deal approaching $125 million for six seasons. Perhaps the only other person getting that big of a raise today is Beyoncé, who sold lots of songs and concerts tickets with her outstanding halftime performance.
Of course, the money to pay for all that talent comes from many sources, most importantly the always skyrocketing rights fees from network television. While the NFL is having a strong conversation today with the Superdome about what caused that 34-minute power outage, at least the 49ers’ comeback kept a bigger portion of the audience around to watch those $3.8 million, 30-second commercials late in the game.
One of the problems Super Bowl champions have is replicating success the following year. Businesses, too, struggle to continue to outperform expectations – quarter over quarter in the public sector and year over year among smaller companies. Sometimes, the best approach may be to go with proven strategies (i.e., don’t let the quarterback escape to free agency); otherwise, you might experience something like a ticked-off goat that’s frustrated by your change of plans.
For the record, the folks at our party laughed loudest at these commercials:
M&M’s – “I would do anything for love”
Audi – Prom Black Eye
Bud Light – Stevie Wonder Voodoo
Taco Bell – “We are young” Senior Citizens
Axe – Lifeguard/Astronaut
NFL – Leon Sandcastle
Tide – Montanaland
There was a lot of respect for the Jeep ad saluting the military and the Dodge Ram spot featuring Paul Harvey’s ode to farmers. However, the XLVII ad that brought the biggest response in our house was Budweiser’s Clydesdale reunion. You never go wrong sticking with the horses.
