Microsoft buys out SportsCenter ad space, for a night [update 1]

by James Ransom-Wiley { Nov 28th 2006 at 9:15PM }

Tonight's edition of ESPN's SportsCenter (11pm EST/8pm PST) will feature Microsoft as sole advertiser. Viewers sticking around for commercial breaks will be force-fed a full seven minutes of Xbox 360 advertising, topped with spots like "Cops & Robbers" and "Mad World." The ads tie into a contest sweepstakes that asks viewers to answer questions about the commercials in order to enter (don't worry, each clip is also viewable on the entry page). In case you're lazy, here are the answers:

What does Marcus Fenix find in the puddle? (Answer: Cherub)
What's the name of the person who starts the game? (Answer: Geoff)
How many steering wheels are in the final scene? (Answer: 2)
What's the first game to get jarred loose? (Answer: Gears of War)
Which of the following titles are referenced on the cars' license plates? (Answer: Gears of War, Halo 3, Forza 2)

[Update: Microsoft just sent us a note that the original announcement contained some errors. They've updated the official sweepstakes website with the following corrections: 1) People are not automatically entered into the sweepstakes; they have to get 3 out of the 5 questions correct to be in it. 2) People do not win a free trip to Bristol, Connecticut to visit the set of SportsCenter, but will win "a trip to New York, including a tour of the ESPN Studios." 3) The date that the sweepstakes ends is December 19 and not December 18.]

Tags: ad, advertising, commercial, ESPN, SportsCenter, television, TV

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Louis S. @ Nov 28th 2006 9:48PM

Why the crap is Floridans not allowed to enter?

It's not only Microsoft and this contest, I've seen plenty of contest but exclude Florida.

WHY? Is there some kind of law or something? Can anyone give me a reason?

OldGuyinFlorida @ Nov 28th 2006 10:04PM

It's because Floridians are old.....and...smelly.....lol

Louis S. @ Nov 28th 2006 10:41PM

jadeheart6 @ Nov 28th 2006 10:46PM

Ya it sucks because I also live in Florida, the reason is because there are tougher regulations on sweepstakes in the state so most companies don't bother to jump thru all the hurdles.

Dirk Dorkelson @ Nov 29th 2006 12:23AM

OK, first, I'm a 360 owner, and I love the 360. But I think it's lame that SportsCenter will just whore itself out to one advertiser like that.

Earlier this year, they did that with Nike, where Nike and LeBron James pretty much took over the whole frickin' show for a night. Then, I think it was the next night, ESPN televised a Cavaliers/Wizards game, and ESPN's announcers spent the whole game raving about James and his general awesomeness. They even went into this lengthy discussion about how James is this great clutch player and how you want the ball in his hands at the end of the game.

(Last year, the story line going into the NBA playoffs was how James had never hit a game-winning shot, choosing to defer to teammates or taking the big shot and missing it. Then he managed to hit a couple of big shots against the Wizards last year and became Mr. Clutch.)

I also love that, now that ESPN is owned by Disney, you get these stupid tie-ins where they do the show from Disney World or something, like it's some sort of novel event and not a giant frickin' ad for another division of their company.

SportsCenter is lame. I'm sure the next week or two they'll do stuff like talk about video games or show footage from games in lieu of highlights or some nonsense like that. Thank god for the NBA's channel.

JBurton90 @ Dec 4th 2006 5:07PM

I went through all that crap to see that Florida wasnt on the list.

Balla360 @ Nov 29th 2006 12:57AM

Louis S., Microsoft knows that you "is" poor grammar skills and decided that it was likely the quiz would simply give you too much trouble. They then decided that you were representative of the entire state.

Texan 2112 @ Dec 14th 2006 5:13PM

Florida, because of its heavy ties to the travel and leisure industry, has attracted bunko operators of one sort or the other, bilking the general public with come-ons incuding false discounts on vacations, bogus sweepatakes, etc., to the point that the people of Florida took legislative control. Sorry bout 'dat.

Thomas Crymes @ Nov 29th 2006 10:02AM

ESPN and every other TV network sells ad space. That's what they do. Why would anyone care if they sold it to a single entity?

And it isn't like you have to watch it. The only time I really dislike it is when it is seemless integrated, like when Monday Night Football will have an actor join them in the booth who just happens to be the star of the networks premier show or something.

Dirk Dorkelson @ Nov 29th 2006 4:32PM

"ESPN and every other TV network sells ad space. That's what they do. Why would anyone care if they sold it to a single entity?

And it isn't like you have to watch it. The only time I really dislike it is when it is seemless integrated, like when Monday Night Football will have an actor join them in the booth who just happens to be the star of the networks premier show or something."

That's exactly the kind of thing I was talking about in my post, when a company buys up a whole hour, then suddenly you start seeing that product (in Nike's case LeBron James) praised relentlessly, even for stuff that previously was regarded as a shortcoming. Hence my comment, " I'm sure the next week or two they'll do stuff like talk about video games or show footage from games in lieu of highlights or some nonsense like that."