I was going to just let the whole LeBron/ESPN/overblown publicity tirade go under my radar and not contribute to the millions of opinions already circulating the blog-o-sphere. But then I logged onto AdAge.com this morning and read this article, featuring an interview with Ari Emmanuel, co-CEO of the William Morris Endeavor agency. Mr. Emmanuel, as great as he may be at his job, seems to think that he also knows the future of the advertising industry. Apparently, The Decision was supposed to be a “paradigm for advertiser-funded programming.”
I’m not sure if he realizes this, but The Decision was not exactly a subtle PR stunt. I thought we, in the advertising industry, were trying to be as unobtrusive as possible when it came to invading the lives of our consumers. At least, I was under the impression that this was the case. I was also under the impression, as somebody who is both in the industry and a consumer, that this was a good step for advertising; that getting our consumers more engaged with our brand through more natural methods was a much more organic way to connect with said consumers, rather than in-your-face, throwing the brand at the consumer type of advertising. Yet my day, last Thursday, was just full of surprises for me. The one-hour long ESPN special on LeBron James’ decision was, arguably, the exact kind of in-your-face, let’s-name-drop-all-these-brands-constantly advertising I thought we were moving away from.
The brand-name drops were blatant, though Emmanuel seemed to be proud of this during the interview. The “special” was tasteless and disrespectful to the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio (and no, I am not from Ohio nor am I a Cavs, Heat, Knicks, or Bulls fan). It was exactly the opposite of why I wanted to be a part of the advertising industry. As a basketball fan, it made me feel foolish. As a consumer, it made me feel stupid. Do these people really think that we, as consumers, are truly as gullible as they’d like to believe we are?
But that’s not what this was supposed to be about. According to the interview, this hour-long mockery of the NBA, ESPN, Cleveland, and the advertising industry was supposed to be a great display of charity. That all of these brands, including the LeBron James brand, were actually doing this to support the Boys and Girls Club.
Well. I don’t know about you guys, but for me, this did not reflect well on that corporation either. What kind of charity supports and, dare I say, worships someone as cocky and self-centered as LeBron James? Many people have said to me, “That’s not his fault. His publicist made him do it.”
Are you all telling me that LeBron James is still a 17-year-old kid who can’t seem to stand up for what’s right and wrong? This was a moral outrage. I don’t even care that he went to Miami. That’s nice, have a good time, you’ll probably play great with Wade and Bosh! I understand his drive to win. He’s young, I’m young, we all want recognition at a young age like ours. And to be the best at a sport that Michael Jordan once reigned supreme? That’s a dream come true! I know it, he knows it, we all know it. I don’t blame him for leaving Cleveland. But I do blame him for the lack of taste with which he did it.
His PR entourage seems to be under the impression that this was all a great publicity stunt, that they were just paving the way for promoted advertising content in the future. Well, to that I say, isn’t it more complicated than that? Consumers have gotten smarter over the years. We see through that. Perhaps this so-called paradigm would have worked even five years ago. But now? It’s more than just about advertising and basketball. It’s about being respectful. To the consumer. And The Decision was the least respectful thing of all- to consumers and basketball fans alike.
But I guess we’ll just have to wait until next fall to see the real aftermath of The Decision- both in basketball and advertising.
