Phenomenal ROI
Congratulations Captain Morgan. For a small investment of a mere $10k you pulled in an audience of 29 million+ and have gotten a solid PR buzz. A stronger buzz then you’d get from drinking a bottle of your booze. Being from Philly I really enjoyed this marketing stunt. Captain Morgan offered to donate $10,000 to a charity, the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund – a non-profit which helps retired NFL players with various hardships after leaving the game, for every NFL player that struck the Captain Morgan pose (see image below) at a regular season game, $25,000 in the playoffs and $100,000 in the Super Bowl.
The guerilla campaign lasted one play and one play enough I would agree. The No-Fun-League – oops, I mean the NFL – squashed any future Captain imitations. Greg Aiello, the NFL spokesman said: “The issue is that players are specifically prohibited under our policies from wearing, displaying, promoting or otherwise conveying their support of a commercially identified product during a game while they’re on the field,” Aiello told Yahoo. “Whether it’s rum or soft drinks or any other commercial product, that type of promotion is prohibited.” A bah-humbug!
Well, in any case, the one play was fresh and fun. I, as a consumer and marketer, enjoyed it and it helped further evolve my brand perception of Captain Morgan. I use to think it was just so young and goofy now, it’s more fun-loving and young-at-heart. Hats off to you Captain, there are very little other ways to generate so much buzz with such a small investment. And bravo for doing so while staying true to your brand identity and personality (a little rebellious, good-hearted, fun-loving, attention-getting) and you – the cherry on top of it all – you appear benevolent too. To end this post, here is the company’s response to the NFL’s ban on their marketing campaign (just perfect, kudos):
“Captain Morgan here, as you know I believe in celebrating legendary times with my fans and my friends and always doing so in a socially responsible manner. I am a man of action, a man of the moment, and I always make fun a priority. And when it comes to football what is more fun than a touchdown? I believe in drinking responsibly, marketing responsibly and helping charities too, but understand my friends at the NFL’s perspective. I will continue in my quest for legendary times and ask my fans to do the same.”
