Terry Tate: Office Linebacker
Reebok2003
Terry Tate: Office Linebacker is a 2003 60-second television commercial and online film series for Reebok, created by Arnell Group.
The line
You kill the joe, you make some mo'.
Why it works
A 300-pound linebacker levels office workers for leaving no coffee in the pot. Born as film-school graduate Rawson Marshall Thurber's self-funded short, Terry Tate was bought by Reebok and aired as a 60-second spot during Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003 — a $4 million buy featuring no product whatsoever. Every hit was real, not CGI. A Wall Street Journal poll voted it the most popular Super Bowl ad of the year, and the extended films were downloaded millions of times from Reebok's site, making it a bridge between the TV spot era and internet branded content. It is studied for the bet that pure entertainment builds brand affinity better than product messaging — and for launching Thurber's Hollywood directing career.
Techniques
- Humour A hulking linebacker flattens office workers for petty sins like leaving the coffee pot empty, pure slapstick entertainment with no product in sight.
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