THE NITTY-GRITTY

Fallon’s latest campaign for Sports Illustrated uses the magazine’s logo as a template for describing what’s inside. The effort also incorporates TV spots for the first time.

Five commercials, the first of which broke last week, take a narrative approach, with a smattering of sound effects and images. “Pinch hitters” begins with the crack of a bat and unfolds via a voiceover that describes the “sweaty-palmed, knock-kneed art.” The spot ends with the onscreen phrase “Pressure Illustrated” morphing into “Sports Illustrated.”

Similarly, five print ads carry headlines such as “Fury Illustrated,” in which a football lineman is shown screaming with his helmet off, and “Awe Illustrated,” which features a line of children gazing at a one-legged marathoner with crutches.

Explaining the strategy, agency ecd Kevin Roddy said SI has a name that “totally describes what the product does.”