Key And Peele To Livestream 'Sports Commentary' During An 'Upcoming Sports Game' That They Can't Name

from the the-game-that-must-not-be-named dept

Thu, Feb 4th 2016 8:26am — Timothy Geigner

Every year about this time, it's become a running joke what the NFL tries to do in controlling who says what about the Super Bowl. It's gotten to such absurd levels that I've taken to calling it "The Game That Must Not Be Named." Setting aside the insanity that is having ICE go piracy hunting just prior to the game to make sure that nobody can see the product outside of the official channels, the NFL also enjoys pretending like it can control how advertisers refer to the sporting contest. The key aspect of the NFL's demand is that nobody can use the term "Super Bowl" in advertisements unless the company is an official sponsor. That, of course, isn't even remotely true, but pretty much everyone buying ads bows at the NFL altar. This has also given birth to creative ways for advertisers to poke fun at the NFL for being such asshats, such as the Newcastle Brewing's lovely entry a few years back, when it produced an advertisement about an advertisement it didn't make, in part because the NFL wouldn't allow them to say "Super Bowl."

Well, the tradition continues, it seems, with Key and Peele promoting Squarespace by setting up a website to do "Game Day Live Commentary", called Real Talk, with a timer countdown that appears to coincide with a big sporting event occurring this weekend. Notably absent at their site, with all kinds of information about what they're going to be doing in terms of "sports commentary" on a "football" game, is any mention of the phrase "Super Bowl." Because... the NFL. They even give a shoutout to this insanity in one of their promos.

While it would be easy to let frustration dominate while thinking about how the NFL's overbearing stance has given rise to any of this, instead let the futility of it all sink in and enjoy a laugh at the NFL's expense. Does anyone not know what Key and Peele are referring to? Of course not. Anyone confused as to what the timer at the top of the page is counting down to? Nope. Is there anyone at all that gives even a moment of thought to differentiating which ads feature the term "Super Bowl" and which use some stand-in term to dance around it? No, dear friends, there is not.

Meaning that the NFL has accomplished exactly nothing, other than to create an atmosphere where the advertisers they want to become sponsors choose instead to gain attention for themselves by mocking the NFL's attempt at protectionism instead. That isn't exactly the Streisand Effect, but it's something similar.

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Filed Under: key and peele, sponsorship, superbowl, superbowl superbowl superbowl superbowl superbowl, trademark
Companies: nfl, squarespace

31 Comments

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HarryOScary, 4 Feb 2016 @ 8:41am

They might be referring to the Superb Owl. That's happening about the same time as the "Big Game."
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Mason Wheeler (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:00am

Re:
I haven't heard of it. What makes this owl so superb?
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Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:09am

Promoting promotions for the promo value.
Next year they should start by having a contest to re-name all the players for both teams (namby pamby, clutzter, big stick in the mud, etc.), then do a live commentary (namby pamby throws to clutzter who of course drops the ball) that would work for folks watching the game with the sound off. (I knew a guy who turned a baseball game on, with the sound off, and then tuned the radio to that game. He claimed there was better commentary on the radio than on the TV).

Even the commercials could be spoofed. This could turn a few hours of fun into a month or more long promotion for their efforts.

BTW, who the hell are these guys?
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Yakko Warner (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:12am

Re: Re:
It has an amazing ability to coordinate a contest between a team of wild horses from the Rocky Mountain region against a team of cougars from the southeastern US.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:20am

What's with the article tag?

https://www.techdirt.com/blog/?tag=superbowl+superbowl+superbowl+superbowl+superbowl
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beech, 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:22am

Re: Promoting promotions for the promo value.
Im not sure why they would have to give the players pretend names, but otherwise this kind of sounds like what they are already doing. It's kind of like using the "loophole" Rifftrax uses to operate. If you arent familiar, Rifftrax makes an audio recording of some guys "riffing" on a movie, that just so happens to sync up perfectly with the dvd of said movie. They are allowed to operate because all they are selling is their own audio recording, not any copyrighted content.

To answer your question: these guys have/had a fairly popular sketch comedy show on Comedy Central for awhile.
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Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:32am

Re:
For those who failed to read the article, one is not allowed to say Super Bowl without the NFL's permission, according to the NFL and ONLY the NFL. Permission that is not necessary in any sense except their perverted minds.

So the tag is a demonstration of the NFL's power to dissuade anyone, even Timothy Geigner, from ever mentioning the Super Bowl in any way shape or form unless they have Super Bowl mentioning status issued by the Super Bowl, a product of the NFL, Super Bowl mentioning permission issuing entity who has issued Super Bowl mentioning permission slips in advance.
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Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:35am

Re: Re: Promoting promotions for the promo value.
Oh, the renaming part is merely an excuse, one of many possible, to extend the promotion.

Thanks for the reference, I never had access to Comedy Central, even when I did have cable. Never had enough interest to find out why not.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:38am

Re: Re:
No, I mean the superbowl x 5 in one tag. I thought it was a typo, but now I'm going to go with sarcasm? This is the only article with the actual tag.
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TechDescartes (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:41am

Patience
The Super Bowl is getting smaller all the time, albeit slowly. Ten years ago, it was Super Bowl XL. Now, it's Super Bowl L (which they obscure with the "50" logo). In 950 years, it will be Super Bowl M. Small and extra-small can't be too far behind.
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Brandon (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:43am

Re: Re: Re: Promoting promotions for the promo value.
Coincidentally, renaming the players would be a great way to tie into one of their sketches where they poke fun at ridiculous real life player names. Imagine them covering Superb Owl starting with Tyroil Smoochie-Wallace, [Construction Noise], Javaris Jamar Javarison-Lamar and X-Wing @ Aliciousness.
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Christopher (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:48am

Umm, they still accomplished their mission.
They have a lot of money, and will sue, and even if they lose, the entry cost to challenge them is too high, so they have effectively gotten what they wanted.

And the criticism means nothing to them, because they make stupid money, while still having the effective ban on using Super Bowl in place.

So you can't right this wrong without lots of money, true for many monopolies and de facto monopolies.

-C
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Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2016 @ 9:49am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Promoting promotions for the promo value.
There you go, connecting with fans and being awesome.

Where have we heard that before...?
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jupiterkansas (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 10:01am

"Disallowed Game Phrasing in Totality for Scripted or Live Peoducitons"

What's a peoduction?
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PRMan (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 10:10am

Re:
"Big Aim" is what you need to hit the "Superb Owl".
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PRMan (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 10:12am

Re: Promoting promotions for the promo value.
BTW, who the hell are these guys?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7FixvoKBw
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Mason Wheeler (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 10:22am

Re: Re: Re:
An owl got a bunch of horses to compete with a bunch of mature women who like younger men? I guess that really is noteworthy!
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2016 @ 10:29am

Old ideas reinvented.

We need a new version of 'who's on first' updated for the modern age, football, and its grand finale.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2016 @ 10:54am

Re: Re:
The owl is superb because it can see the Супербоwл game.

For all you who don't understand cyrillic, I'll give the phonetic transliteration:

С = "s" у = "u" п = "p' (like pi) е = "e" (doesn't change) р = "r" б = "b" о = "o" (doesn't change) w = "w" (doesn't change) л = "l"

Some people might prefer to refer to it as the Σθπερβοωλ, or even the Eximius Crater (ay-x-ee-m-ee-oo-s c-r-ah-t-uh-r).

I personally like the sound of the Eximius Crater pigskin game.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2016 @ 11:00am

Re:
Somebody owns the rights to "productions" so they used an alternate word.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2016 @ 11:02am

Re:
Who's on the 40 yard line at the Amazing Chalice?

QB needs to be named "Down".
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nasch (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 1:14pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Promoting promotions for the promo value.
You can't leave out Davoin Shower-Handel and Donkey Teeth!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gODZzSOelss
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nasch (profile), 4 Feb 2016 @ 1:15pm

Re: Re: Re:
No, I mean the superbowl x 5 in one tag. I thought it was a typo, but now I'm going to go with sarcasm?

It doesn't work to poke fun at the NFL unless you do it over and over.
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A concerned citizen, 4 Feb 2016 @ 1:26pm

Re:
Super Bowell
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Anonymous, 4 Feb 2016 @ 6:20pm

a couple of things.
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Anonymous, 4 Feb 2016 @ 6:24pm

A couple of things:
1) A breakfast cereal company needs to advertise its brand by showing its cereal in a giant bowl.

2) Quit watching the damned show. I haven't watched it since 2010 because of this absurd behavior on the part of the NFL (same goes for the Olympics).

3) Superb Owl is funny.
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Bergman (profile), 5 Feb 2016 @ 12:27am

Re: Re:
I don't know, sounds kinda crappy to me...
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Ninja (profile), 5 Feb 2016 @ 5:25am

Re: Re: Re:
That's some owls missing.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Feb 2016 @ 4:51pm

Re: Promoting promotions for the promo value.
Roy & HG from the National broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation have been doing this for years on the big football games in the AFL & rugby league over on the JJJ radio network. Funny as F@#$.
Does the "Brick with eyes" have any readers thinking of a filed political candidate?
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midofo (profile), 5 Feb 2016 @ 7:17pm

Re: Promoting promotions for the promo value.
This is exactly what is done in Australia for the 2 major football codes by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation which is government owned).
The Grand Finals and held on consecutive weekends and Triple J radio (a part of the ABC) broadcast "The Festival of the Boot" pt 1 and 2 for the respective Grand Finals, which provides a comedic commentary about the game. It is broadcast across the country.
There have been famous names introduced into the Australian vernacular from these broadcasts including "The Brick With Eyes" a current Australian Senator (https://www.google.com/search?q=brick+with+eyes&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8)
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Mar 2016 @ 3:20am

What makes this owl so superb?
Just those who give a hoot
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