Having trouble getting through a tough workout this week? A singing Clay Matthews and Muscle Milk can help you reach the finish line.
In the next extension of the brand’s “Stronger Everyday” campaign, created by agency of record Mekanism,
Green Bay Packers star Clay Matthews fronts a new campaign from Muscle Milk that sees the NFL star tasked with helping athletes (both professional and amateur) step up their game and inspire their owkrouts with his physical and vocal support.
The core campaign idea is that Matthews personifies Muscle Milk and it is led by a spoof spot that sees NFL linebacker and brand endorser appear in a series of training situations where he literally supports sportsmen and women train to a soundtrack on which he actually sings ‘Lean On Me’.
The campaign was initially teased socially,
We all need someone to lean on. Tomorrow @ClayMatthews52 has you covered. #strongereveryday pic.twitter.com/LIReVkOXfU
— Muscle Milk (@MuscleMilk) November 13, 2016
before the full launch of the central 30-second spot on 13 November across TV and the brand’s YouTube channel.
The main commercial is further supported by a series of sports-specific 15-second spots ads that show the NFL star help a tennis player,
a swimmer
and a runner.
The initiative is also supported and amplified across the brand’s digital and social channels such as Twitter
Sing along with @ClayMatthews52 and remember, even when he's not around—we've always got your back. #strongereveryday pic.twitter.com/IDB12gUCgt
— Muscle Milk (@MuscleMilk) November 14, 2016
and Facebook.
The creative idea is that even when someone as strong as Clay Matthews isn’t around to help, Muscle Milk will be there to help you through training.
All the ad assets urge viewers to ‘Sing along with Clay and drive viewers online to the brand’s website at http://www.musclemilk.com/
‘From the viewers perspective you’re hearing the song being sung and then visually on screen you’re seeing what feels very much like an epic sports montage with a fun twist,’ says Muscle Milk consumer marketing VP Josh Mohr.
Athlete endorser Matthews was chosen to sing himself on the spot after his solid singing in the film Pitch Perfect 2.
‘The minute Clay started singing in the recording studio everybody was pretty blow away … He was so self-deprecating about the whole thing,’ recalls Mekanism founder and executive creative director Tommy Means.
‘The minute he started singing he sounded like a song bird.’
The new spot series expands the brand’s ongoing ‘Stronger Everyday’ marketing idea – which was launched back in April 2016 with a spearhead TV spot that took a softer, more serious and inspirational approach and was led by fellow brand ambassador and Golden State Warrior super star Steph Curry.
Comment
Not many athlete endorsers are competent actors and fewer still can actually sing.
Viewers of this spot might legitimately question Matthews’ acting abilities, but few could really argue his voice is decent enough.
Indeed, in the Autumn/Winter 2016’s NFL athlete ambassador ad singing contest, Clay Matthews’ tuneful work for Muscle Milk is far higher in the charts than New England Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski’s rock vocals for EA Sports Madden 17 (see case study)
Perhaps for its next campaign, Muscle Milk can show us if fellow ambassador Steph Curry’s voice is as sweet as his 3-point shooting, or whether muscle Milk endorser and New York Mets ace Noah Syndergaard has vocal pitch that matches his pitching?
While the brand doesn’t actually sponsor Matthews’ Green Bay Packers team or the NFL itself, it does have a strong American Football sponsorship portfolio than includes partnerships with more than 20 US college football programmes (including heavyweights teams like the Oregon Ducks, UCLA Bruins, University Of Miami, Texas A&M, Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida State).
It also partners with several trail running and triathlon properties such as Xterra, New Balance Falmouth Road Race and the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon, as well as events and associations ranging from Nike EYBL to The Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association (CPSDA).
Links
Muscle Milk YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/CytoSportInc
Muscle Milk Twitter:
https://twitter.com/musclemilk
Muscle Milk Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/musclemilk
Muscle Milk Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/musclemilk/
Muscle Milk Google+
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MuscleMilkOfficial
Muscle Milk Web:
Mekanism:
