Heading into the 2023-24 NHL season, ESPN debuted a new This is SportsCenter ad featuring a pair of Vegas Golden Knights and the Stanley Cup.
In the ad, Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault teamed up with ESPN NHL broadcaster Steve Levy to wash the Stanley Cup. Of course, because we’re watching a This is SportsCenter ad, they washed it in the dishwasher.
That nod from Levy was hilarious. Well done.
ESPN, to its credit, also uploaded a nearly three-minute video of NHL-centric This is SportsCenter ads. Current NHL on TNT analysts Wayne Gretzky and Henrik Lundqvist are featured, along with current NHL on ESPN broadcasters Levy, John Buccigross, and Linda Cohn.
ESPN has brought the This is SportsCenter ad campaign back over the last year. Two ads featured US Women’s National Team stars Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Sophia Smith, one featured Delta State’s Fighting Okra mascot, and the fourth-starred track and field gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Future ads will star Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, golfer Jon Rahm, and UFC fighter Brandon Moreno.
The ad is part of ESPN’s marketing push toward the start of the NHL season, which begins with a tripleheader airing on ESPN and ESPN+ Tuesday.
[ESPN]
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.