ESPN introduced the mobile-phone service under its own brand with this Super Bowl XL spot by Havas-owned Arnold. It shows a subscriber walking down the street glued to his cell phone as athletes sprint, dribble, flip and race past him.
"In other words, in ESPN's familiarly eccentric style, total sports immersion," Ad Age reviewer Bob Garfield wrote in 2006. "In other words, according to the ad, 'Heaven.' We concur."
The athletes who appear include baseball players Jim Edmonds, Torii Hunter, Juan Pierre, Hudson Street and David Wells; NBA stars Baron Davis and Stephon Marbury; NFL player Antonio Gates; tennis star Robby Ginepri; boxer Jeff Lacy; bowler Chris Barnes; and gymnast Carly Patterson.
But the Super Bowl starpower and subsequent marketing was not enough for the servce, a "mobile virtual network operator" that actually ran on Sprint Nextel's network, to catch on with consumers. ESPN parent Walt Disney Co. discontinued Mobile ESPN in September 2006 after losses of at least $25 million.
Director: Prolific Super Bowl presence Jake Scott. Production company: RSA USA.
Creative director: Roger Baldacci. Executive producer: Fran McGivern. Copywriter: Will Chambliss. Art directors: Rob Kottkamp. Editorial: Bug Editorial.
BRAND: Mobile ESPN
YEAR: 2006
AGENCY: Arnold
SUPERBOWL: XL
QUARTER AIRED: Q1
