Forget about the trip to Canton, Ohio and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This boring old place is basically a repository for helmets, footballs, and other related items. Now there’s a better alternative for dedicated fans (with an attention span of less than 20 seconds).

Proformance Sports Marketing and Entertainment recently announced the opening of the official Cheerleading Hall of Fame. These glorified sex objects will now get their chance to be ensrhined as the finest ever to shake those pom-poms.  Former NFL Cheerleading Director and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Cindy Villarreal-Hughes, President of PSME, believes the Cheerleading Hall of Fame will bring a positive influence(?) for the cheerleading industry.

Little girls all over the world can now cheer for their favourite (and surgically enhanced) NFL cheerleader as possible entrants. The board of selectors will consist of industry experts, who will scrutinze every candidate (and body part?) for enshrinement. Possible locations for the Hall of Fame include: California, Kentucky, Ohio, Orlando and Texas.

I would personally like to see the future hall of fame in Califorina, especially near the beach!

Source: http://www.proformancesports.net/

Is this bold marketing or sheer stupidity?

I’ve seen some pretty ugly race cars in the past.  But the 2007 Honda F1 Race car takes the checkered flag as the most unappealing livery ever produced.  The team recently revealed a green and blue “map of the world” to underline Honda’s desire to be viewed as an environmentally friendly car company.

“We hope that in raising awareness and highlighting the issues we will encourage members of the public to come together and help take on the challenge of climate change,” said the team’s chief executive Nick Fry.

From Cancer Stick Promoter…

…to Saviour of the World!

This marketing ploy is equivalent to a Tobacco Company building a Cancer research facility.  What I really find funny is this very same team was sponsored by a tobacco company from 1999 to 2006.  Pretty ironic isn’t it?

Automobile manufacturers and their financial stakeholders are not guys, whose morality lies with environmental concerns.  By boxing up the word “Environment”, this sleazy marketing campaign is simply about dollars and making money.  

It seems that every car manufacturer wants to jump on the environmental bandwagon these days.  From Hybrid cars to Penis Envy gas guzzlers, the automobile is still nowhere close to maximizing the energy they are producing.  Did you know that only 13% of the energy produced by an internal combustion engine is used for propulsion?  Even though fuel efficiency for passenger cars has improved 39% in the past ten years, fuel consumption increased by 19% and rising.

Vehicles contribute to an estimated 60-70 percent of urban air pollution.  And yes, the Honda motor company still produces cars that burn gasoline and pollute the air (hybrid or not).  Carbon dioxide produced by these (Honda) cars are still the leading cause of the greenhouse effect and global warming.

I look forward to the next propaganda campaign set forth by these car companies.  Will they help save the whales from extinction? 

Perhaps one day they will actually build a REAL electric car?  Oh I forgot!  They’ve already pulled that scam.

Last weekend, I viewed a Mix Martial Arts event held in Las Vegas: PRIDE 33 - The Second Coming.  For those of you who don’t know, PRIDE FC is an established MMA organization based in Japan.  Legions of hardcore fans have long argued this organization to be a superior alternative when compared to the financially successful Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).  With a roster consisting of Fedor Emelianenko (the world’s best mixed martial artist of all-time?) and other top caliber fighters, PRIDE is looking to place its blood on U.S. soil and to capture some much needed market share.

This long path to recognition may take a very long time for PRIDE to achieve, especially when the UFC brand name is plastered all over free TV and mainstream media outlets.  Plus, marketing to an audience with very short attention spans will make it harder for the company to establish itself as a viable competitor outside of Japan.

The card itself was very exciting and full of upsets.  I definitely got my money’s worth.  In fact, most MMA fans will view this card as a complete success. It will also be known as an event where big name fighters lost.  For the past 6 months PRIDE has been lifting certain fighters to God-like status in comparison to their UFC counterparts.  Unfortunately, their losses have stalled any momentum or future event with UFC fighters.

The current long term outlook for PRIDE in North America is pretty bleak.  I have a hard time seeing how they can effectively challenge the UFC without a real television presence over here.  After all, it’s Network and Cable TV that will help them build fans and future PPV buys.  With the UFC’s continued expansion (The Ultimate Fighter Show, HBO Deal, Signing new fighters, etc) and increased exposure, PRIDE will have a hard time establishing a foothold against their well known competitor.  Plus back in Japan, they’ve already suffered a big financial setback by losing their lone television deal with FUJI TV.

In the end, there will always be Hardcore MMA fans that will support PRIDE over the UFC. Unfortunately, their limited presence will not make PRIDE a financial success outside of Japan.  It’s a race to capture the mainstream audience that will declare any real victor in North America.  And right now, the UFC is a couple laps ahead.

I just hope the Fat lady hasn’t sung for PRIDE FC.

Get your sofa and junk food ready because Super Bowl XLI is almost here.  An estimated 90 million viewers will sit in front of the TV and view the biggest football game of the year.  Many people will watch the game itself but others will tune in to watch those flashy TV commericals. What’s even more impressive is that Super Bowl advertisers are paying up to $2.6 million for a commerical spot!

Depending on the broadcaster and where you live, some viewers will be unable to view these entertaining commercials.  Worry no more!  The 6th annual “IFILM Super Bowl Site” gives you the opportunity to view these commercials immediately after they air on TV.

During the game, IFILM editors will be blogging and selecting their favourite commercials while they air.  Users will be able to imbed these commercials with the IFILM blogger toolkit so you can share these ads with the world. 

You can find the “IFILM Superbowl Site” by clicking here.