Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen
First Aired: 2013
Agency: Grey New York
Production Company: MJZ
Campaign: DirecTV Most Powerful Fan
Ah, football. A man's game. A male-dominated field (which I plan to rule). Nothing affects a man's pride and ego quite like football.
Take a look at this ad for DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket. At first glance, we see a very tall and strong man in an Andy Dalton jersey (bless his heart) talking to a man of average height and build, but who looks minuscule in comparison. The office in which they are is very bland, with pale blue-gray walls and beige work spaces. The small man himself is wearing neutrals, nothing about him is particularly special or noticeable. What we notice is the powerful fan. Our eyes are immediately drawn to the bold black and orange of his jersey, and his pants, which are the everyday-man's pair of khakis, are still brighter and crisper than his surroundings. The director's use of color, layout, and dialogue draw our attention to and make us viewers desire to be like this all-powerful fan.
This advertisement, along with the entire DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket campaign, plays on a man's pride. If you get Sunday Ticket, then you will be all-powerful, desirable, and possess qualities greater than those of your male counterparts. If you don't get Sunday Ticket, then you will be an average, boring man, rejected by your coworkers and left in a man on a lightning bolt's dust. The powerful fan is also displayed as exceedingly confident and, while his coworker quickly becomes intimidated and confused and his voice seems to trail off due to this man's apparent dominance. The message is essentially that the only way to restore your pride is to get DirecTV.
The use of the lightning bolt in this advertisement is particularly note-worthy. The lightning bolt is a symbol of the Greek god Zeus- the god of all gods. He is the one who possesses ultimate control and power. The possession of the lightning bolt further distinguishes this man's superiority over other men, essentially he is god-like; he is truly the most powerful fan, the fan of all fans. His coworker's pride is diminished when he promptly rejects his offer to watch the game and asserts his dominance. No one wants their weakness to be publicly displayed.
Our giant friend also has the pleasure of riding off with a beautiful, scantily-clad woman on a lightning bolt, while the other man is left to look on in jealousy and confusion. If you get Sunday Ticket, you too will be accompanied by a beautiful woman. This woman doesn't talk, however; she is just seen as an object, a prize for the powerful fan. This commercial further promotes the idea of male dominance. It fits into the macho man persona of the NFL. The woman is used to play on men's desire (lust) and pride, as though purchasing NFL Sunday Ticket will also fulfill everything you need as a man.
At the end, a voice over of Cris Collinsworth, one of the broadcasters on NBC Sunday Night Football and former NFL player, is played saying, "Become the world's most powerful fan. Get NFL Sunday Ticket at no extra charge." The idea of power is used as a way to enhance a man's pride. The key to becoming all-powerful is just getting NFL Sunday Ticket. It's quite simple really.
The intended audience is middle-class men in their thirties and forties, the average working-man. These men have to be making a decent amount of money, though because, as I know from personal experience, NFL Sunday Ticket is not included after the first year. These commercials are played on Sundays during football games, so it is specifically intended to target football fans. The ad is targeting them by using pride to sell an ideal lifestyle. It portrays a "manly man", something highly valued in our society. Football is a huge part of American culture, especially for this audience, and any way to improve their fandom is likely to be highly revered. The director uses this idea of "preserving your manhood" and becoming the "world's most powerful fan" in order to encourage people to purchase DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket.
Disclaimer: Though I have NFL Sunday Ticket and it is one of the greatest inventions of all time, I have yet to receive my lightning bolt.
