My first official post will begin with my favorite ad of all-time, "Terry Tate - Office Linebacker." For this post I will include some research upon Reebok's Terry Tate campaign and I will add my comments here and there. Overall though, this campaign was brilliant in that it took an abstract concept of an "office linebacker," focused consumers in another direction and created a viral sensation that took on a life of its own.
Following Super Bowl XXXVII, then CEO of Reebok, Paul Fireman, said that 800,000 people had visited the Reebok site curiously looking for Terry Tate. Of those coming to the site, 750,000 downloaded the ad, which required registration. To date, Reebok has had 20 million downloads. Most of the viewers were also men aged 18 to 34, the most important target for Reebok. Of those 750,000 who registered, 69 percent said they were likely to buy a Reebok product.
Reebok.com saw a 308 percent traffic increase from a week earlier, despite the fact that Reebok did not feature its product or brand prominently in the Terry Tate ad. Many wondered if this fact hurt Reebok's brand. However, according to Mickey Pant of Reebok the campaign was a success.
"After the Super Bowl, 60 percent thought the advertiser was Reebok. For some reason, 30 percent thought it was McDonalds. But because you have to go to Reebok.com to see the films, there’s 100 percent brand recognition now. The Web site is the backbone of the campaign."The success of the Terry Tate ad campaign is revolutionary. What started as a figure head good for a few laughs has turned into one of the most memorable ads of all-time. It has crossed mediums and demographics and though the campaign is about 7 years old, its lessons and strategies are relevant today.
