Jimmy Kimmel, Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong, Nick Young, and Sparty. What do these five have in common? No, they are not the current starting lineup of the Los Angeles Lakers, although that might not be outside the complete realm of possibility. These five are part of a new ESPN ad campaign to try to convince you that the College Football Playoff on New Year’s Eve is not a terrible idea. It is.
ESPN is really pulling out all the stops for this commercial, mixing some ABC celebrities with an incredibly random assortment of athletic talent (Max Scherzer?) to sell the CFP on NYE. I’m not going to lie, the first time I saw this ad I thought Robin Thicke was actually Jesse Palmer.
The final lyrics there, “so plan accordingly,” really tell you all you need to know about how wonderful this idea is. ESPN has to remind you that you need to totally rethink your New Year’s Eve plans for the playoff this year because it makes no sense to do so. What you’ve been doing for decades – making way for college football on New Year’s Day – ain’t going to cut it anymore. But thank God Josh Duhamel is here to set us straight.
Is now a good time to remind you that ESPN lobbied the CFP powers that be to change the schedule this year off of New Year’s Eve this year? And also that ESPN is paying $608 million per year for the playoff? Should auld acquaintance be forgot…
