Snoop Dogg will have his own Adidas-sponsored talk show leading up to the Super Bowl

Snoop Dogg is becoming a talk-show host. Adidas has been working with the rapper for years and currently has him as their “head of football development,” and they’re launching a new eight-part “Turf’d Up” YouTube series with him talking football with ex-football players, analysts and celebrities in the run-up to the Super Bowl. Here’s the trailer:

And further details, from AdWeek:

The first episode will post to Snoop Dogg’s Youtube channel, WestFest TV—which has 1.3 million subscribers—on Wednesday. Dec. 30.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Coach Snoop, which includes everything from working with him to design signature footwear, apparel and uniforms, to the sponsoring the SYFL—his grassroots football program,” said Mark Daniels, vp of team sports for Adidas. “Turf’d Up is the natural extension of our partnership and provides the perfect platform to showcase Coach Snoop’s talent, his knowledge of the game and how Adidas Football is the only brand that fuses sports and culture.”

The series, developed for the brand by creative shop Cashmere Agency, will feature guests like Antonio Pierce, Terrell Owens, John Salley, Tony Gonzalez, George Lopez, Rich Eisen, Robert Horry, Willie McGinest and YouTube personalities iJustine and Jesse from PrankvsPrank.

“We knew that we wanted to tap into Coach Snoop’s natural hosting abilities to create this one-of-a-kind talk show,” said Nick Adler, svp of Cashmere Agency.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this is received and how it compares to more-traditional pre-Super Bowl content. In some ways, perhaps this is following the trend set by The Players’ Tribune and its incredible popularity: if stories get more attention when an athlete or celebrity is the (credited) writer, perhaps interviews will get more attention if the interviewer is a celebrity in their own right rather than a lesser-known journalist. (We’re seeing this elsewhere, with several teams, leagues and media networks having players interview other players.) Interviewing is a significant skill in its own right, though, and one that takes substantial practice to do well. It will be worth watching how Snoop Dogg does here, and if this series continues a trend towards celebrity interviewers.

[AdWeek]