Saturday, January 31, 2009

Running Through the Super Bowl

Tomorrow is the big day. Super Bowl Sunday. While many of us will be out for our long run or spin, others will be gearing up for that yearly food fest that also includes an NFL football game and some interesting commercials. After my long run today of 26 miles I went grocery shopping for a few things this evening and found out that just about every junk food available to the buying public was on sale while everything else was at regular price or higher. Great Message.

The commercials will provide an insight to where we are as consumers to some degree. Many companies really go for it and don't mind paying the estimated 3 million dollars for 30 seconds of fame. But is that the real thing they are after? Is a statement being made for us that we just don't get? What if during each of these high priced ads, a runner ran or cyclist biked through the ad and just waved and said, "Hey, look what I'm doing. I'm getting some exercise. Wow! It feels great!". What kind of additional message would that send across our country and the world about the need to get out and get some exercise? Millions of adults and children will be glued to the television and can be influenced by this massive product invitation.

What if we spent that much effort on getting the fitness message out? Wow! What an impact! Following is a Budweiser ad from the past that shows some possibilities.



So as you watch or in many cases don't watch America's tribute to "I'll buy just about anything if you show it during the Super Bowl.", think about that runner running through, the cyclist biking through, the yoga participant stretching through, the walker walking through, and many other possibilities that could demonstrate fitness or a healthy lifestyle. The Budweiser commercial presented a strong message. When will the other corporations join the team? Budweiser gets it. Do you?

Forward we go! May your roads and trail be happy and safe!

No comments: