The NFL is having a backwards week. The Pro Bowl is being played before the Super Bowl. And instead of commercials featuring cute monkeys, frustrated cavemen and talking babies being the most popular water cooler topics on the Monday morning after the game, it’s a yet-to-air Super Bowl commercial garnering all the attention and discussion in the week leading up to kickoff.
In case somehow you haven’t heard, the University of Florida National Champion quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and NFL draft hopeful Tim Tebow is going to be featured, along with his mom, in a pro-life spot sponsored by James Dobson’s conservative Focus on the Family.
Even though nobody outside of CBS and Focus on the Family has actually seen the spot, conservatives are thrilled someone is taking a pro-life stand on the biggest world stage. Liberals are livid – Gloria Allred has already threatened a lawsuit against CBS – and pro-choice activists are calling for the ad to be yanked.
If one of my clients wanted to do this spot, I’m not sure how quickly and in how many languages I’d be able to say “no.”
You’re asking for uproar, begging for backlash.
When celebrities and sports figures insert themselves into political arenas, they open themselves up to standard political tactics – come out for a hot button issue and the other side will start building opposition research case files. You want to talk about pro-life issues? You better not have a gossipy one-night stand who went to CVS the next day to get the morning after pill.
A single skeleton in the closet can torpedo your cause, crush your endorsements and, as we’ve seen with Tiger Woods, cause a fawning public to turn against you in the time it takes Tebow to run a 40-yard sprint.
Millions of dollars down the drain instantly; a permanent stigma attached to a career.
But here is where Tim Tebow is Teflon — taking this position guarantees him sponsors.
“He is the most marketable guy we’ve ever seen coming out of college,” said CNBC’s sports business expert Darren Rovell.
Tebow should do this spot because he is authentic.
[youtube qLpCdWYcdg4 nolink]
From wearing eye-black patches inscribed with Bible verses to his work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he has never been afraid to speak his mind and publicly support his views.
In an realm where top-level athletes are instructed what to say and how to say it in hopes of developing a positive public persona that will result in landing as many multi-million dollar national sponsorship deals as possible (there’s a reason you never saw Michael Jordan take a side on any issue and why LeBron James claims to be speaking his mind while using inoffensive clichés: less controversy = more money), Tebow is the exception.
Other athletes have case files with their names on them; Tebow has laws named after him. Other athletes wouldn’t pick a side between Coke or Pepsi for fear of losing a sponsor. Tebow would not only answer, but would fervently stand by his position.
Talking about his decision to do the Focus on the Family ad, the 22-year old Tebow said:
I know some people won’t agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe and that I’m never shy about it. I don’t feel like I’m very preachy about it, but I do stand up for what I believe and at least you can respect that. Because I do stand up and unfortunately in today’s society not many athletes do that, to stand for something.
That’s the twist of Tebow – he can turn out to be a horrible NFL quarterback and still make millions speaking on behalf of corporations and entities that support conservative causes. He can be another Heisman flame-out and be more popular than any QB in the NFL not named Manning, Brady or Brees.
Companies with conservative bents — think Walmart, Chick-Fil-A, Ace Hardware – can quickly become heroes to a majority of their consumers by creating campaigns around him.
In what is an increasingly divided country, Tebow speaks for the half that Madison Avenue often overlooks.
Tim Tebow will be selected in this April’s NFL draft. He may never reach the Super Bowl, but for many, he’ll be remembered as the star of this one.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.