LOS ANGELES ESPN today breaks a campaign that promotes Thursday Night Hockey on ESPN.
The effort, created by independent agency Ground Zero in Marina del Rey, Calif., is themed, “The NHL on ESPN. Made in America, delivered on Thursdays.” The campaign includes TV spots airing on ESPN and ESPN2 that portray hockey as an American game, as well as print ads running in ESPN The Magazine and radio executions on ESPN Radio.
Spending on the campaign was undisclosed. The Bristol, Conn., client spent $23 million overall on ads in 2002, and $15 million through August 2003, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.
Six 30-second TV spots show workers in a hockey “factory” as they discuss what is being produced. Ads include National Hockey League players Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Sergei Federov, who are depicted as specializing in overseeing the production of hockey and its American values. One execution, “Imports,” shows a factory worker, with the help of Federov, illustrating the importance and contributions of immigrants in the NHL. Another ad, “Purity,” features two purity inspectors suggesting they have the most important job at the factory. Giguere gives them a look that reminds them that arrogance is frowned upon in hockey.
“With this campaign, we wanted to make the claim that the hard-driven ideals and blue-collar work ethic that have made this country great are the same qualities that make the NHL and its players great,” said Lee Ann Daly, svp of marketing at ESPN, in a statement.
ESPN’s second consecutive season of Thursday Night Hockey telecasts will begin Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. EST with a nationally exclusive telecast of Detroit at St. Louis.
Ground Zero Launches Ads for ESPN's Hockey
