The sports world had a lot to offer this year, and below, Brief remembers some of our favorite sports media promos of 2013.


NBC Sports Presents Jason Sudeikis, American Coach in London

This past October, NBC Universal unveiled a three-year deal for rights to broadcast the prestigious Barclays English Premier League. In honor of the deal, NBC Sports Network launched a multiplatform campaign called “It’s Football… Just Not As You Know It” to get US viewers up to speed.

The campaign was anchored by a TV spot starring “SNL’s” Jason Sudeikis, with a spot running five minutes on YouTube but cut down to 30-second spots for broadcast. Activation also included out-of-home marketing with subway trains and London-style taxis wrapped in NBC Sports-EPL signage, “trainers” on the streets handing out EPL-branded towels and water bottles, billboards and a tie-in with online food delivery service Seamless.com offering discounts on Saturday game days.

In the campaign, Sudeikis played the fictional new head coach of the Tottenham Hotspur, Teddy Lasso, whose knowledge of NFL football didn’t always translate.


Sportsnet Carry Your Colours: True Colours

Sportsnet viewers know where to find their true colours—whether it’s Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League or the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In this heartwarming spot, a rendition of “True Colors” is used to paint each sports fan with their team’s true colors.


FOX Sports 1: ‘Happy Days Are Here Again’

The launch of Fox Sports 1 was a big deal this year, and the sports net had very different ideas when it comes to “happy days.” The slow-mo promo showed some of the most brutal, bloody and grueling moments in sports juxtaposed with athletes telling each other to have fun out there.


FOX Sports Live: We’ll Show You the Highlight

“Here at Fox Sports Live, we’ll show you the highlight. It’s what we do.”

“Fox Sports Live” this year wanted to go beyond just showing you the highlights—the team wanted to also boast about its VCR and rewind technology.

“If there’s a special part of the highlight, we can draw a circle around it. Or in some cases, even an arrow.”


“SportsCenter” Anchors Get Wardrobe Upgrade

“SportsCenter” anchors have been through a lot for the good of the show, and in 2013 the team decided their suit-and-tie wardrobe also needed an update.

In the ESPN promo featuring anchor Jay Harris, ESPN bigwigs decided to outfit everyone in sleek uniforms that wear more like Olympic swimmers’ high-tech swimsuits than office attire.

The things TV personalities would do for the camera…

MLB Network’s ALDS Game Three Introduction

Ray Liotta of “Field of Dreams” acts as narrator for MLB Network’s opening for the 2013 ALDS Game 3.

The film introduction started by driving down a dirt road lined with billboards of some of the greats. When the truck arrived at a baseball diamond, the field lit up to become a place where MLB stars got together to prove themselves.

Characters - Because It’s The Cup

“It’s hockey, you know? It’s only a game,” said one hockey great in the NHL’s promo leading up to the playoffs this year.

The NHL is full of characters, on and off the ice. This year they got to let their stars shine in the Stanley Cup playoffs and in interesting interviews later in the locker rooms.

RiksTV

This sports fan’s baby is so cute that dad is convinced to stay home and watch the game on TV. Luckily for him, RiksTV has every soccer match available.

Seriously, who can leave those crying eyes alone at home?

US Open 2013 - “They Come Here” by ESPN

Fans get on the road to New York, because when it’s the US Open… they will come.

Narrated by actor Tate Donovan, the spot for the 2013 US Open showed New York at a glance, slowly approaching the city, where tennis stars and citizens alike gathered, celebrating both the sport and the city.

NBC Sports’ Premier League Promos Call on Fans to Pick a Side

Premier League English football is a gritty, exhilarating sport with some of the world’s most devoted fans. Some of them even live in the US, though in general, Americans don’t follow the League, if they are aware of its existence at all.

Understanding the value of the Premier League as potential entertainment, NBCUniversal sought to change that. To bring Americans up to speed, NBC Sports unleashed a massive ad campaign involving everything from viral spots to New York bus stop ads that assign a Premier League team to each of the city’s boroughs.

Then there was the quietly awesome Premier League Team Picker, an interactive digital feature that lets NBCSports.com visitors click through a series of questions to help them determine what team they are most suited for. The queries are mostly pure silliness – a person who claims they like concerts, for instance, gets paired with Tottenham because “many musicians are fans of Tottenham” – but a series of promos accompanying the Picker turn it into something special, employing that famous dry British wit in the service of spots that offer invaluable insight into the user’s new team of choice.

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