We loved learning about how the Professional Bull Riders keep trying to grow and disrupt by, frankly being creative with their assets. Latest case in point…
PBR is joining the Super Bowl Party with the first national brand commercial in the sport’s 26-year history, launching its new ad campaign, “Be Cowboy,” prior to kick off on the Super Bowl pregame show on CBS.
In addition to reaching a significant number of sports fans on the year’s biggest ad platform, the league believes it should be in the conversation with other major sports and brands. Two weeks ago, PBR was the No. 2-rated sport to the NFL on Sunday, January 20, drawing more viewers than PGA Golf, Australian Open Tennis, and the Premier League.
The new spot (preview it here: PBR Be Cowboy Commercial) demonstrates the inner cowboy of everyday people – a school teacher, a fire fighter, a real working cowboy – as the shadow of a cowboy trails behind. We are implored to Be Badder, Be Bolder, Be Braver, Be Cowboy.
“We want to show that you don’t have to wear the hat, the buckle or the boots to be a cowboy – it’s the values you have, how you act and live,” said Sean Gleason, CEO, PBR. “The campaign is a call for everyone to rediscover and unleash their inner cowboy.”
It’s a clever idea. PBR, which was formed when 20 cowboys broke away from the rodeo, is essentially staking a claim to one of the world’s most identifiable and revered icons, while showing cowboys are classified by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin, as stated by a memorable cowboy, under the campaign’s new definition, in the 1960s.
“You’re a cowboy whether you know it or not,” said Ryan Wagman, Executive Creative Director for Endeavor Global Marketing. “If you’re a cowboy, you should be with cowboys. And if you want to do that, you should be with PBR cowboys.”
To find everyday cowboys, Endeavor Global Marketing, the cultural marketing agency within the Endeavor network that includes PBR, and creator of the spot, cast real people in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“We looked for a variety of backgrounds, ages, occupation, and color,” Wagman said. “But it’s much less about what people looked like than what they were like. We cast for people who embody blood, sweat and tears; the fearless, tough and proud. They weren’t styled. They came with their own clothes and stories. We tried to bring their real personality to the screen.”
The spot millions of fans will see on Sunday is the 30-second version. A longer video will be shown in arenas across the country prior to PBR events. Fans will also see “Be Cowboy” in local advertising, on RIdePass (the league’s western sports digital network), and in geo-targeted Facebook ads.
“We’re really proud of this campaign because it truly shows who we are,” Gleason said. “Debuting on the Super Bowl, the biggest advertising day of the year, is the place to start encouraging all Americans to unleash their inner cowboy.”
The purpose of the campaign is to help PBR appeal to a much broader audience, thereby “opening the tent to PBR,” according to Wagman.
While Hollywood has burned into our imagination the caricature of the cowboy as John Wayne and the Marlboro Man, history tells a very different story.
“There are more than 150 years-worth of stories about black cowboys, whose accomplishments and rightful place in history have been disregarded and all but forgotten,” said Keith Ryan Cartwright, author of the forthcoming book Black Cowboys of Rodeo: Unsung Heroes from Harlem to Compton and the American West.
New angle, well played.
