Drew Brees plays Xbox Kinect
With apologies to the furry guy in Pennsylvania, the Phil who casts the bigger shadow this week is Simms. And we’d much rather talk about the Gronk than the Groundhog. Still, there’s something simultaneously predictable and outrageously insane about Thursday at the Super Bowl. It’s the day we expect the unexpected and shrug our shoulders in nonchalance when Madonna offers her assessment of Victor Cruz’s salsa skills and dispenses pain management advice to Gronk.
Anything is possible on Super Bowl Thursday – which is exactly what we told ourselves when we decided to put together one of the busiest and most diverse activation days in Catalyst history. Cam Newton, Drew Brees and Michael Strahan were all on today’s roster, quarterbacking programs for Under Armour, Xbox and SUBWAY Restaurants, respectively. While securing appearances on national TV and radio was one of the primary PR objectives, watching these athletes interact with fans and fellow athletes off-camera provided the best moments of the day.
Cam pulled off the rare ‘Bow/Joe exacta when he bumped into Tim Tebow (the two have a very good relationship) and Joe Montana within a matter of minutes. I can confidently report that Tebow-mania shows no signs of subsiding. I also can report that Cam was less than a year-old when Joe celebrated his final title with the Niners! Note to self: refrain from Knight Rider, Flock of Seagulls and Rubik’s cube references when speaking with Cam.
Cam Newton represents Under Armour at Super bowl
For Brees and Strahan, today was about engaging the everyday Joes of all ages. Brees challenged local kids to Xbox Kinect challenges, and the kids showed the Super Bowl champ a thing or two about moving in the pocket. Brees saved his best move for last, surprised the group by giving each of them their own Xbox 360.
The gamers weren’t the only big winners today, as Strahan dished on the big game and dished out SUBWAY sandwiches to hundreds of football foodies for SUBWAY’s “FebruANY” promotion. I guess I missed the line item in my contract that says Catalyst must activate with a hero of the Giants XLII Super Bowl team every day during Super Bowl week just to rub salt in my wounds…but, um, thanks for that. And can’t wait to see what’s in store for Friday.
Disclosure: Under Armour, Xbox and SUBWAY Restaurants are all clients of Catalyst Public Relations
