If you’re looking for 1,000 words on this, the headline pretty much sums it up.
Companies hire ad agencies. You can’t shoot 100%. Dodge Ram and their ad agency thought Terry Crews rapping a fight song was a good idea. They also thought Drew Allar and Penn State were safe bets as a nationally relevant player and programs for the duration of the college football season, when this ad was scheduled to air.
Both of these assumptions have proven to be flawed. The commercial itself is pretty annoying, although perhaps it might have earworm potential for some. That said, it’s an automatic mute or change the channel for me.
The commercial’s most significant issue, though, is the prominent placement and rhyming of now-injured Penn State quarterback Drew Allar as one of the main rhymes in the song.
“Hemi engines, hurricanes, Cummins too! Drew Allar, this NIL deal is for you!”
Someone got paid to write this humdinger. Can’t blame Terry Crews or Drew Allar for taking that money. Good work if you can get it.
This commercial debuted in the days after Penn State’s season officially imploded in a loss to UCLA. Allar, once a Heisman front-runner for what was thought to be a National Championship-contending team, would break his ankle and be lost for the season in the days after the commercial debuted.
Penn State subsequently fired head coach James Franklin, and now their losing streak has lasted longer than the government shutdown.
And yet, the commercial plays on. Every football game, both college and pro, you’re bound to get 1-2 “DREW ALLAR THIS NIL DEAL IS FOR YOU!” and shake your head at what has to be the most unlucky, obnoxious, and stupid commercials of this football season.
Play another commercial! Record a different version of the song and edit out the Allar line! Do something other than making football fans laugh at your brand!
Ultimately, it’s been a baaaaaaad season for Penn State. I am not sure how this Terry Crews yelling about an injured player currently in a six-game losing streak helps you sell your trucks, but my credentials are that I’m a 3.0 marketing major who has rewatched Mad Men ten times.
