A Lame Attempt At Sponsorship Activation
Posted: 9/2/2009 8:52:57 AM by
Jim Andrews | with 1 comments
Let me say first that I think IHOP’s NFL sponsorship is a deal that could provide the pancake chain with numerous promotional platforms to drive traffic, enhance the brand, etc. In fact, IHOP has introduced a number of activations, which you can check out at the company’s new microsite, www.IHOP.com/NFL.
However, French toast in the shape of a football just doesn’t cut it. (Yes that’s an actual photo from the IHOP press release.) First, even if this menu item was a good idea, IHOP didn’t need an NFL sponsorship to introduce it. Second, this menu item is a bad idea because no one over the age of 12 wants to eat food shaped like a football (or other sports equipment for that matter).
The lameness quotient is taken up a notch with the addition of “cool AFC strawberries or warm NFC blueberry compote.” Three problems here. One, the only connection between the two conferences and their corresponding fruits are the red and blue colors that the league has assigned to the AFC and NFC, respectively. (Even among diehard football fans, how many of you remembered those were the colors?) Two, nobody gives a rat’s behind about the AFC or the NFC. (Check the Pro Bowl ratings.) Three, for argument’s sake, let’s say there is a Cleveland Browns fan who is such a football freak that he wants to eat football-shaped food and sincerely loves the conference his team plays in, but he also hates strawberries. IHOP has now forced the poor schlub to either be disloyal by choosing the NFC blueberries or opting for a less satisfying dining experience!
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Filed under: sports, activation