Posted on 01/18/2007 5:58:25 AM PST by Risha
Brady thrills, Manning shills: Colts star cashes in, but Pats QB/QT scores when it counts
By Jesse Noyes
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Thursday, January 18, 2007 - Updated: 06:22 AM EST
Tom Brady has three Super Bowl rings. Peyton Manning has none.
So why is it nearly impossible to watch 10 minutes of a televised NFL game - or television for that matter - without seeing Manning’s mug (with or without a fake mustache)? The All-Pro quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts is featured in ads for Sprint, DirecTV, MasterCard, Gatorade, ESPN and other major brands.
Meanwhile, two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady [stats], who dates actresses and supermodels, makes the occasional commercial appearance but sits mostly on the advertising sidelines.
Sports marketing and media executives rank Manning as the most marketable player in the NFL, according to Sports Business Daily. And he doesn’t miss a lot of opportunities to cash in. Many fans outside of Indianapolis gripe that the quarterback is overexposed.
Brady scores right behind Manning in the marketability survey. But the Patriots [team stats] quarterback takes a different approach, which experts say reflects his personality along with that of his team.
“Brady is without question as marketable as Peyton, if not more,” said Peter Stern, president of Strategic, a New York sports and entertainment marketing agency. “He has the rings and he’s played on the stage on the biggest day of the year.”
But Brady likely turns down numerous endorsement deals in part because he doesn’t want to stray far from the Pats’ team ethic, sports marketing experts say. When Brady appeared in ads for Visa and Sirius Satellite Radio, he was joined by his offensive line and wide receivers.
When he does fly solo it’s seldom in uniform, and more often in model poses that end up in style magazines, like his print ad for upscale watch maker Movado.
Brady is very protective of his image. He’s sued Yahoo! [YHOO] and General Motors over what he claimed was unauthorized use of his likeness in ads.
Brady may also decline a number of endorsement opportunities to keep from diluting his image. By maintaining a certain aloofness, celebrities can often demand a bigger price tag when they do lend their image to an advertiser.
Unlike Brady, Manning arrived in the NFL with a big name already in place. His father, Archie, was a famous quarterback, and Peyton was a first overall draft pick out of college. “He had name recognition from birth,” said Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based consultancy Sportscorp Ltd. “He’s always had more name recognition . . . and advertisers always liked that.”
Manning also is funny and a good actor by football player standards.
In his commercials for MasterCard the quarterback shows a good sense of comedic timing. Manning appeared in a TV ad for Sprint where he sports a fake mustache and talks up his own performance on the field.
Manning’s appeal is more “humble-folksy,” Stern said, while Brady’s is more centered around his movie-star good looks.
You say classless steaming pile, I say genius. Belichick is headed to the AFC Championship again(and eventually the Hall of Fame) and the Marty is lucky to have a job this morning, hmmmm.
Booya!!!
It's not just some idea of team ethic that keeps Brady from doing TV ads. He doesn't like to spend the time it takes to do those things. He'd rather do something else with his offtime that he enjoys more.
So a classless act is genious as long as it helps you win the game? You patsy fans are just like the coach. You backed into 1 superbowl with a BS 'tuck rule' and you backed into this AFC championship. The 49ers or Steelers you ain't.
I think a lot of people get dissapointed when they find out how normal these guys are off the field.
Wow. Those are remarkably ugly. Somehow, I expected something more tasteful.
Re-read my comment #12 (how appropriate). Just because he doesn't attach his name to everything he does, ala Ted Turner or Robert "KKK" Byrd doesn't mean he isn't giving back.
There are many worthy charities out there who get lots of support from athletes quietly. I never heard of a "Ted Williams Foundation" or a "Tim Wakefield Foundation", but there's this little group up in Boston called "the Jimmy Fund" that owes much of its continued success to the various sports teams (and their stars) up there.
Three Super Bowl Rings and counting, that ain't no fluke.
Oh my, I thought I was the only person alive who still brings that up. I STILL haven't heard a good explanation. IMO it boils down to this, IF YOU HAVE TWO HANDS ON THE BALL AND YOU LOSE THE BALL IT IS A FUMBLE.
He did't have TWO hands on the ball.
Who knew that Amish Dudes were 35-year-old pizza delivery men living in their mother's basement? I mean, isn't that the prototype Raiders' fan, especially the ones who can't let it go?
All the Colts need is to win Sunday and they will have an opportunity to get one ring. Then do it twice more to equal what the Pats have done the past five years.
Here is some math for you Colts fans. Take Brady's draft number add Troy Brown's draft number. Then add the number of rings in that photo. What do you get?
LOL!!!
Oh the horror!!!
He's a bad bad man.
Good on him. I never hated Manning (my wife does, mostly because he is so over exposed compared to Brady, her hero) but he does seem to find a way to choke during big games.
BTW, is Ty Law's agent one of his charities? Tell him Asanti Samuel's kids need new shoes, will you?
Manning is a role model I like.No,respect and like.
Great family,great man,end of story.
Three superbowl rings.
Two Clinton terms.
Not everything is deserved.
BWHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!
Awesome.
From Clay Travis's article on CBS Sportsline--funny stuff.
But back to my contention that all football fans are either Brady guys or Manning guys. I've come up with a highly scientific outline to define what camp fans are likely in, via 10 characteristics that define each fan base. Here goes:
Brady's fans
1. Tend to live on either coast with a sprinkling of Ann Arbor fans from Brady's days at Michigan. Think about this: Can you really see Brady playing for Jacksonville or Tennessee or Kansas City? Neither can I. Brady is definitely a bicoastal guy. So are his fans.
2. Lots of women. They love the idea that he's such a metrosexual pretty boy who likes to wear turtle necks, get manicures and doubtlessly sleeps with one of those silk eye masks.
3. Guys who wear cologne and have ice-skated before.
4. Latte drinkers. Just try and picture a Manning fan sitting down with a cup of coffee in a trendy coffeehouse. You can't, can you? In fact, most Manning fans couldn't even pronounce or spell latte.
5. Like Enya. Is there any other football player whose fans are more likely to sing along when Only Time comes on? The answer is no.
6. Would ironically wear a cowboy hat.
7. Are convinced that Manning is an over-hyped choke artist and whiner who constantly blames his teammates whenever he loses, has never won any big game of note, and only gets attention because of his family name.
8. Rollerblade ... possibly in spandex.
9. Hate every moment of Peyton Manning's innumerable television commercials and wonder how a rich kid who was the overall No. 1 draft pick, with an All-Pro quarterback as a father, has somehow been embraced as a man of the people.
10. Pay more than $10 for a haircut. You could open a hairstyle magazine and point to any Brady fan's coif. In fact, Brady fans even know what the word coif means.
Manning's fans
1. By and large are Southern. Where I live, in the state of Tennessee, Peyton Manning could still be elected to any statewide office. Probably without campaigning. And while there are still SEC fans who hate Manning because he regularly beat their teams, there are many more who are fans of the Manning family. In general, the southland is Manning country.
2. Not very many women. I asked my friend Katy who she rooted for. Her first question was, "What is Tom Brady going to be wearing, a uniform or a towel?" Guess who she picked.
3. Guys who wear mud-encrusted boots and T-shirts. I spent the day on a construction yard in northern Kentucky recently. Just to see, I asked the crew during lunch who they rooted for, Brady or Manning. To a man they all picked Manning. Other than construction crews in New England, I think this trend would continue. For whatever reason, Manning has more common-man appeal.
4. Have killed something in the past month. Hunters are Manning people. I don't know why this is, they just are.
5. Walk or run awkwardly. Brady seems effortless when he plays football. Manning makes football look like it hurts. He sort of stands with his hands downcast and always hanging mid-chest (it's like Montgomery Burns meets the NFL). He twitches and gesticulates and always looks like his chest and ribs are perpetually two feet in front of his head. Add in the fact that his shoulders and feet are never still and Manning looks like the first-grader whose parents just took him off Ritalin. At no point on the field does he look comfortable. Not even in the moments immediately after he throws touchdown passes.
6. Would wear cowboy hats without irony.
7. Believe Tom Brady is only three plays away from never having won a single Super Bowl and is the overrated creation of a media hype machine that demands an heir to Joe Montana.
8. Pay less than $10 for a haircut. This means Manning's fans are often without sideburns, occasionally model awkward bowl cuts, or are subject to other hairstyle maulings. If you don't believe me, just pause the television at any moment when the crowd is shown in Indianapolis this weekend. There will be a bevy of hairstyles on the men ... almost all bad.
9. Are certain that if Manning were in Brady's place, he would have done even better. The general feeling is that Brady's an OK quarterback, but has always had the better team.
10. Would never stand in line for a bar or club. Once inside their chosen establishment, if you can't throw peanut shells on the floor they immediately leave.
Honestly, if you're bored right now at work, write down the names of each of your friends and assign them to the Brady or Manning camp. Then check your hypotheses to see whether or not you're correct.
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