August 30th, 2005
Allstate Seeks Net Gain With New Ads
By Michael McCarthy
USA Today
College football telecasts will never be the same thanks to a multimillion-dollar deal by Allstate to slap ads where no ads have gone before: on field-goal nets.
Thirty-nine NCAA Division I-A colleges — such as Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Colorado, Boston College, Army and Air Force — have agreed to use "branded" nets with their football teams at their home stadiums.
The translucent netting and rigging will be constructed in one end zone per stadium. The nets show the insurance company’s "Good hands" logo, playing off the company’s slogan: "You’re in good hands with Allstate."
ABC and ESPN also have agreed to show the nets during national college football telecasts. Viewers should expect to see them for the first time Saturday during ABC’s telecasts of Oklahoma vs. TCU and Pittsburgh vs. Notre Dame.
The deal is the latest twist on the controversial product placement trend sweeping Madison Avenue. Rather than airing TV commercials around sports events, marketers such as Allstate are trying to embed their messages inside sports programming itself.
"This is the kind of media placement that will generate a lot of buzz. People will say: Why didn’t I think of that?" says Joe Tripodi, Allstate’s chief marketing officer. Negotiations with other universities for similar deals are ongoing.
But advertising watchdog Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert counters branded nets are another example of "ad pollution" creeping into every corner of public life.
The nation’s largest insurance company, which already sponsors the Bowl Championship Series, is paying millions to make the program a reality:
•Allstate will pay ABC, ESPN and the 39 universities for the rights to turn their nets into billboard space. Tripodi declined to give dollar figures. The special nets from Dorna USA will cost $3 million to $5 million, he said.
•Allstate will donate $300 for each field goal and $100 for each extra point to the schools’ general scholarship funds. Tripodi expects the company to donate $250,000 to $300,000 by season’s end.
•The company will stage halftime contests, inviting one fan per game to win $6,000 with a successful 20-yard field goal. The promotion culminates at the Rose Bowl, where a fan is expected to get a chance at a $300,000 kick.