11/21/24
September 23, 2005
Burk plans to protest new NHL ad campaign: Martha Burk couldn't get Augusta National to blink. Now she's turning her attention to hockey. Think about it, Martha. It's the NHL. How many people can even see the ad?
I'm shocked by this add campaign. Hockey has always been a sport devoted to chivalry and proper social etiquette. Me thinks Martha likes her own publicity a bit much.
posted by mayerkyl at 01:48 PM on September 23, 2005
What hockey ad campaign?
posted by Richie Bee at 02:02 PM on September 23, 2005
Hey, it's not as bad as Smell the Glove: "This tasteless cover is a good indication of the lack of musical invention within. The musical growth of this band cannot even be charted. They are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry." Eat your heart out, Martha Burk!
posted by Hugh Janus at 02:04 PM on September 23, 2005
I'm with garfield. The NHL has nowhere to go but up, so bring the noise, Martha. I wouldn't have chosen this ad angle, but hey, as long as it's a unified statement of intent, it's fine. What's really going to bring the butts back to the seats (I'll say it to whoever will listen) is community outreach, early and often. Get the players not just into the hospitals and schools, but guest-refereeing pee-wee games, doing "celebrity placement" appearances at other sporting events (like, just as a frinstance, Jeremy Roenick never stopped doing), judging pie eating contests and battles-of-the-bands, auctioning themselves off to rich dowagers and dating second-rate starlets and supermodels, selling NHL-approved trinkets on QVC, opening (or frequenting) establishments in each town and somehow entice the cool people there, sneaking into the background on ESPN College Gameday ("MIAMI SUX/GO CANES"), go into diners at random and pay for everyone's brunch, do whatever is necessary to win people over one by one again. And Smell the Glove is a phenomenal record. I will hear nothing bad about it.
posted by chicobangs at 02:22 PM on September 23, 2005
Thank you Martha! Make us appeal to drunk mysoginists everywhere. Every dollar helps.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:40 PM on September 23, 2005
Hey, it's not as bad as Smell the Glove: "But she should be MADE to smell it!"
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:41 PM on September 23, 2005
I have two words, chicobangs: Shit Sandwich.
posted by Hugh Janus at 02:41 PM on September 23, 2005
If we're going in the musical direction, any hockey fan has to atleast give a listen to a band named, that's right you guessed it, Hockey Night. Not that Bettman&Co have their collective ear to the ground, but this is a no-brainer. A young, good, hip band that obviously loves the sport. Knock Knock. Who's there? Marketing Opportunity.
posted by garfield at 02:44 PM on September 23, 2005
Still though, the NHL could not get an actual hockey star to be the center piece? This is indicative of the actual story here. The NHL's alliance with basketball lawyers and Madison Avenue types that really do not understand the beauty of the game. Thank God for CBC where the do hockey right.
posted by RedStrike at 02:46 PM on September 23, 2005
I'm going to side with Martha Burk and say they should pull this ad at once. Now, I'm not saying this because of the provacative woman in the ad, but because the ad itself is terrible. Awful. Stinky. Really, really bad. The commercial doesn't have a single hockey player in it, for Pete's sake. It doesn't even have a hockey action sequence in it. Who's producing this garbage? It has quick cuts of a woman who might or might not be hot. And some actor. When the actor is getting dressed he puts on an "NHL" jersey. Does anyone you know cheer for this team? Are people really supposed to get excited by this? On preview: Sorta what RedStrike said.
posted by 86 at 02:47 PM on September 23, 2005
(musically speaking, Detroit's own Snake Out has one of the best with "Hockey Night In Canada", with props to the late Warren Zevon's "Hit Somebody")
posted by RedStrike at 02:47 PM on September 23, 2005
Not to derail, but if I may -- Holy shit! Is Snake Out still together? I have an LP of theirs from at least 15 years ago. It's terrible. I didn't think they'd last. Also: The Zambonis, the Hanson Brothers and Nomeansno/Hockey Teeth should break out the helmets and the retro Canucks jerseys and get in their tour vans if they haven't already. (Hey, are the Pajama Slave Dancers still together?)
posted by chicobangs at 03:16 PM on September 23, 2005
As much as I think that Martha Burk should fight a battle that's worth fighting... "This ad shows no disrespect for women," Mansur told The CP. "On the contrary, the woman is the spiritual and physical trainer for the 'Warrior' and is his mentor." ...my hat is off to Ms. Mansur if she actually managed to say this with a straight face.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:28 PM on September 23, 2005
Chico my friend, you're dating yourself. Snake Out? (alas, they're no longer). Albums? What the hell is an "album"? Back to the thread, not to kiss up, but 86 was even more on point, (on goal?), than I. This one makes the old "Peter Puck" informative campaign look like a Michelangelo work of art. What's next? Advertising on the side boards and ice?
posted by RedStrike at 03:29 PM on September 23, 2005
What's wrong with being sexy? What's wrong with an obviously loving women helping her man dress for battle? And then servicing him promptly? And quietly? (no women need answer.)
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:49 PM on September 23, 2005
What's wrong with dating yourself?
posted by chicobangs at 04:11 PM on September 23, 2005
What's wrong with dating yourself? "Nobody does it better..." (btw, chico, I spent the last two weeks working on my Blake Block. It's a lifesaver!)
posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:12 PM on September 23, 2005
Wait. There's a Museum of Radio and Television? I thought that was what cable was for.
posted by owlhouse at 04:16 PM on September 23, 2005
I am shocked that anyone would use sex and/or violence to sell a product. Oh wait...I mean I would be shocked if anyone DIDN'T use sex and/or violence to sell a product. It works Martha, while the methods you employ...don't. So get some naked girls to stand next to you while you go on and on about BLAH BLAH BLAH and maybe I'll start listening.
posted by stofer71 at 04:35 PM on September 23, 2005
So get some naked girls to stand next to you while you go on and on about BLAH BLAH BLAH and maybe I'll start listening. That's incredibly tasteless and delightful.
posted by Samsonov14 at 05:32 PM on September 23, 2005
You should read what 86 had to say about this garbage on our internet talking dealie. (Apologies for the bananas, we lost our Comcast space and are looking for a new image host.)
posted by Samsonov14 at 05:59 PM on September 23, 2005
Thanks for the publicity, Martha. Just spell "NHL" right, ok?