Maybe my recent memory is failing me here, but I can’t remember a more well-timed commercial than the one that aired yesterday for Beats by Dre featuring Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks. By now, everyone has seen or heard about Sherman’s comments just moments after winning the NFC Championship. He made the game winning play on a ball thrown to a “mediocre receiver,” Michael Crabtree, according to Sherman. Apparently, there has been some beef between the two players dating back to last summer while both were in attendance at a charity event hosted by Arizona Cardinals receiver, Larry Fitzgerald.
While Sherman is considered one of, if not the best, corners in the NFL, he isn’t a largely popular name or face in terms of the casual fan. He’s only been in the league three years and wasn’t a high-profile pick in his draft class being selected 154th in the 5th round by Seattle. Despite Seattle being one of the best teams in the league the past two years, national media coverage isn’t one of the things the Seahawks rank highly in, and when they are talked about it usually centers around 2nd year QB, Russell Wilson. Well, with Sherman’s outburst after the NFC Championship yesterday, that all changed very quickly. Social media exploded with a mix of hate and admiration. Countless articles have been written about him both in his defense and to belittle him in the last 24 hours. “Richard Sherman” is STILL trending on Twitter almost 20 hours later.
As you can see, Mr. Sherman has created quite the buzz for himself in the last 24 hours. Whether it is negative or positive press, the media planners who set up his Beats by Dre spot yesterday couldn’t be happier. If the Seahawks lose yesterday, there is no comment from Sherman, no trending on Twitter, and his Beats by Dre ad probably gets lost in the shuffle. But now, Beats by Dre has the opportunity to piggyback off Sherman’s new-found super stardom and reach millions of more viewers. Sherman has been said to be very calculated about everything he does off the field and there is always an end game such as building his character for marketability purposes. Did he get caught up in the moment and let his emotion spill over in his post game interview, or is Richard Sherman playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers?
Here is Sherman’s post game comments with Fox’s Erin Andrews followed by the Beats by Dre commercial which debuted yesterday.
Kevin McLaughlin 