A Tale Of Two Commercials: Cam Newton And RGIII Go Mainstream

Feb 21, 2012, 4:46 PM UTC

Adidas used a new commercial to announce they’ve signed this year’s Heisman winner, Robert Griffin III, to an endorsement deal this week. And at the same, Under Armour debuted a commercial featuring last year’s Heisman-winner, Cam Newton. So let’s compare ‘em!

ADIDAS/RGIII

STORY: Robert Griffin goes to training camp in February?

CLIMAX: “Great things only come with great effort,” as Robert Griffin checks down to a screen pass in the flat. Fade to black and Adidas welcomes RG3 to the family.

PROS: Athletes lifting gigantic weights always looks cool (“click CLACK, son!”), RG3 is wearing his trademark socks, and the voiceover sounds cool (?) if you’re not really paying attention.

CONS: Since when did we start shooting commercials in Instagram?

UNDER ARMOUR/CAM

STORY: Cam goes to the club (at an empty football stadium).

CLIMAX: Cam dodges a bunch of tackling dummies and dives into the (empty) endzone.

WORST COMMERCIAL CHARACTER EVER: This guy.

Maybe Under Armour was just trying to capture an authentic club experience, complete with the insufferable DJ who sorta makes you lose all faith in humanity. But let’s be honest: if they were going that route, this random dude just makes it look like they couldn’t afford DJ Khaled.

PROS: This commercial is exactly what Any Given Sunday said would happen, complete with model voiceovers in the background saying “Cammmmm” (“Willie Beeeeeamen”). Cam can finally play on a field all by himself, away from all his terrible teammates. Also, the shoes in this commercial are legitimately awesome, and I want a pair.

CONS: Aside from the DJ..... It would have been cooler to show Cam actually at the club, just generally being the coolest person in the room at all times. He could even be popping bottles with someone like Zach Galifianakis (Carolina’s own!) if you wanted to add some comedy to it.