Eagles’ Brent Celek Participates In First Known Branded TD Celebration – 75 Points

This is an awesome story with a particularly depressing ending.

Seems that Captain Morgan, the rum maker, had successfully planned and geared up a sneaky guerrilla marketing effort wherein NFL players would strike the same pose on the Captain Morgan bottle after scoring a TD, and in exchange the company would donate money to Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, which provides money to retired players facing financial hardships.

Sounds like a win for everyone, right?

Wrong.  The NFL can’t have any unpaid-for marketing in its league, and has officially banned the pose from being used in celebrations. Brent Celek, a little-known tight end who had heard rumblings about the promotion, is the first and the last player to participate.  Fun’s over.  Everyone go home.  We can’t let players hold their hips and raise their leg after scoring.  Nope.  Because that would be free advertising, and the NFL MUST be paid for everything.

Are you freaking kidding me?  A clever marketing idea that doesn’t affect the uniform or the game, that would have generated tons of buzz and interest in the league as well as tons of money for a worthy cause (that the NFL itself has long ignored) and they can’t tolerate it?!?!

Sheesh.  Just when you think the league might be softening a bit, they do something like this. Not that I want my NFL games to be completely filled with inside jokes, viral marketing, and model posing.  I don’t.  But it’s so frustrating to have such an iron curtain around this league.  Remember when they wouldn’t let Peyton Manning wear black shoes to honor Unitas, or let Mike Nolan wear a suit on the sidelines to honor his dad without having a special suit made by Reebok?!

On the flip side:  Massive props to Captain Morgan for creating and executing the only known “guerrilla marketing touchdown celebration promotion.”  They got a guy to pimp their brand to millions in exchange for a charitable donation.  It’s the big brand equivalent of a streaking or a scoreboard marriage proposal… only even cooler.  Too bad the NFL killed it after that.

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