NHL Stanley Cup promo campaign sparks viral response

If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery then NHL marketing minds at ad agency Young and Rubicam scored a game-winner with their “History Will Be Made” promotional campaign for the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since launching the new ads on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada a month ago, the internet has been flooded with clips by fans trying to spoof the inspirational spots.

Focusing on historic achievements in Stanley Cup Playoffs history, the campaign begs the question; “if it wasn’t for these iconic moments, what would we remember?” The six promos are set to a rousing piano score and unfold in slow motion, each depicting a victorious moment played backward. They close with a question sprawled across the screen to further magnify what you just witnessed.

They are guaranteed to infuse a sense of excitement and empowerment. Check out my favorite promo featuring Bobby Orr taking flight after scoring “the goal” to win the Stanley Cup for Boston way back in 1970.

Another one features Patrick Roy making a spectacular save in his rookie season with the Montreal Canadiens but I can’t show it to you because I am a Bruins fan and it would violate the “No posting spectacular Habs moments” rule that I officially established this morning.

Now for the parodies; there are a lot of them so I dug around and have posted some of the more interesting ones that I could find. This first one features Miroslav Satan’s game-winning goal and series finisher against Buffalo from this past Monday.

Fellow Bruins fans will appreciate this next clip highlighting the bumbling Brian Boucher of the Philadelphia Flyers who we’ll face in the second round of playoff action beginning this Saturday.

Here’s a spoof involving my favorite player Milan Lucic taking center stage.

And here’s one for Marc Savard.

Fans are a critical part of the game too. Here’s a parody featuring the Vancouver Green Men.

The “History Will Be Made” campaign is currently running across all of the NHL’s national and local broadcast partners, NHL Network, NHL.com, in-arena, and through digital and social media networking websites. No doubt, new parodies will continue to have a viral appeal on the web throughout the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which is absolutely great for the NHL and its fans.

Rask is up for the task

The Boston Bruins have finally arrived!

For most of the regular season, the team exemplified mediocrity through mistakes, injuries and a seeming overall lack of passion. Then all of a sudden things turned around and they found ways to win. The Bruins finished the season in spectacular fashion by earning nine points in the standings through their last five games, good enough to place sixth in the playoff lineup.

Now we are on the brink of eliminating the tough and gritty Buffalo Sabers with a 3-1 series advantage going into tonight’s game 5 matchup. It’s hard to image the Bruins have only held a lead in this entire series for a total of 20 minutes. They seem to thrive on desperation as their game consistently elevates in third period action. No doubt, this series is playing out as originally advertised with low scoring games, superb goaltending and tight defense. The difference maker here is the goaltending. The Sabers, backed behind Ryan Miller, was the favored team in this first round. Miller has had an outstanding year with 41 wins in the regular season and played on the US Olympic team where he gave everything he had to help win the Silver medal.

Add to that, he finished the regular season with the second best save percentage (.929) and goals

against average (2.22). But that means only one person finished ahead of him in these two categories and that person is Tuukka Rask with a .931 save percentage and Tuukka Rask again with a 1.97 goals against average. Albeit, Rask played considerably fewer games than Miller but he still posted a 22-12-5 record behind the lowest scoring team in the league…so he’s got that going for him, which is nice.

The Bruins are winning games with rookie sensation Tuukka Rask between the pipes. When the pressure is on, Rask rises to the occasion while Miller cracks. Rask is keeping his team in games when Miller is giving up late-game goals. I therefore declare that the torch is being passed in this series. Rask is the best goalie in the league right now.

Tonight, the Bruins will defeat the Buffalo Sabers and go on to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s hard to bring down a team when their goalie is hot and right now Rask is on fire.

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Photo Credits: Rick Fink

Tea Party comes to Boston - David Gergen weighs in

Sarah Palin was the headlining speaker at today’s Tea Party rally on Boston Common where thousands turned out in support of the sweeping movement. While there were some protesters, the event remained a predominantly civil affair with minimal exchanges between Tea Party advocates and their opposition.

In her 20 minute speech, Palin attacked democratic leadership for over-spending and the “intruding reach of government.”

It was particularly surprising to see so many people attend the rally even after the Scott Brown victory.

Having lived in New Hampshire most of my life, I sort of had the impression that residents in the Commonwealth liked to pay a lot of taxes. I’m half-joking here but c’mon, the state’s income tax forms actually have a box that you can check off if you want to pay even more taxes than you actually owe to the government!

I had the good fortune of interviewing David Gergen, senior political analyst for CNN, a professor of public service at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a former White House Advisor for Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. Since he knows a thing or two about politics, I was interested in his perspective on today’s rally and the overall impact of the Tea Party movement. Here is a transcription of our conversation:

RF: Has anything you’ve seen here today caught you by surprise?
David Gergen: What’s striking to me is that it’s a very friendly day out here with a lot of people who support Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. And there are others who are here in protest and then there are others who are here because they’re curious. I find there’s a lot of good will in these people – maybe it’s the sun, maybe it’s just Boston but I don’t find a lot of anger out here or bitterness which I find interesting.

RF: What is your reaction to seeing so many Tea Party supporters here in such a democratic stronghold?
DG: I think the Tea Party movement proved, during the Scott Brown election, that it is a lot stronger here than would be commonly thought. They provided a lot of the energy for his campaign in December and he started gaining traction at that time so I think they were an essential element of his victory. Even though this is one of the most liberal states in the country there is a conservative element in this state which is strong and has been here for a long time and I think this group should be treated with respect. You know, there’s a tendency sometimes for the elite in states like this to look down their noses. I think that’s wrong. These are good citizens, they pay their taxes, and they send their kids to war. So they disagree with the mainstream in a state like Massachusetts but they’re still citizens in good standing so I have a lot of respect. I’m a believer that the people who come out to something like this deserve a voice in serious decisions and should be taken seriously.

Rick: Were you surprised by Scott Brown’s Senate election victory?
DG: I wasn’t in the end. If you had asked me that seven weeks before the election, I would tell you I’d be shocked to see him win to be honest with you.

RF: Do you think this momentum can carry through the elections in November?
DG: I don’t know yet. I do think there is a backlash in the country. It’s quite obvious that the Tea Party is the most vocal support to that and if the elections were to be held today, I think the Republicans would pick up a lot of seats and the Tea Party would have a lot to do with it. But things can happen between now and then. I do find that contrary to the arguments that were being made by some Democrats as part of the Healthcare Debate, they were arguing that once they pass it, it will become very popular and that has not happened. Will they win that argument over time? We’ll have to wait and see. What the Democrats have to hope for are signs that the economy is starting to pick up and if that were really to change rapidly then the atmosphere is going to change – the whole landscape is going to change. I think a lot depends on that. But it’s clear; there is a substantial element of varied people feeling very intensely that the country is moving in the wrong direction.

RF: Thank you Mr. Gergen.
DG: My pleasure

Whether you agree with their message or not, the Tea Party movement is on a roll. According to a poll conducted by the Winston Group, 57% of their members are Republican and 28% are Independent - that leaves 13% Democrat and 2% Undeclared. That says a lot considering it was not too long ago when Obama was considered the next best thing for our country.

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Photo Credits: Rick Fink