At long last, ESPN football analyst John Clayton does have a ponytail. In the latest "This Is Sportscenter" commercial produced by ESPN, the longstanding myth that the bookish, bespectacled gridiron expert sports a ponytail is mocked to terrific effect.
Along with deft deployment of the Clayton wig (it's a wig, right?), the ad also gets high marks for use of Slayer and its manchild-living-at-home nod to Wedding Crashers (think meatloaf).
Awful Announcing delcares this ad the best installment in the "This Is Sportscenter" series. Matt Yoder of AA was so moved by the combination of a metalhead Clayton, the faux ponytail and a sleeveless T-shirt of the band responsible for Hell Awaits and Reign Of Blood that he went as far as to write "I take back everything negative I've ever said about ESPN."
Bleacher Report's Gabe Zaldivar goes even further in explaining his positive feelings for the commercial, writing "I would take this commercial out to a fancy dinner and allow it to order anything on the menu, and then I would get down on one knee and propose."
Still closely covering the ponytail beat, Deadspin is more measured in its response, noting that this is a "pretty good commercial."
What do you think?
Whether it's merely good or actually the best of the genre, ESPN has managed the trick of getting many of the media outlets that criticize its missteps to make a viral hit out of a promotional clip.
I guess that's how you become the Worldwide Leader...
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