Good and Bad BC Lions Season Commercials and Campaigns

[Robbie]

Now that I've noticed some old BC Lions season commercials, let's compare. Do you have a particular BC Lions commercial that you liked, and others you really disliked?

I've posted all the seasons which I can obtain commercials from. I'll concede that the actual year listed may not be the that's presented for that commercial. I only years that I'm certain are those for 1988, 1989 and 2010.

1988 - We Mean Business


1989 - Roar. Vancouver's Lionhearted Again


2004 - Ceiling Fan


2004 - Airbag


2005 - Casual Friday


2006 - Candles


2007 - Double Time


2007 - Airplane


2008 - Baby Shower


2009 - Long Drive


2009 - Vending Machine


2010 - Casey Printers


2015 - Another Vending Machine


There are always huge marketing flops, and in the case of the BC Lions commercials, the biggest flop was the one for 2010 in which the marketing department decided to do a campaign based on Casey Printers, suggesting that he will guide and lead the team to an excellent season. We all know what happened in the end as Printers didn't even survive the 2010 season as he was released before it ended.

In the 1989 commercial featuring David Williams and Gerald Roper, both players left the team after 1989.

Another marketing question is whether you should use professional actors or the team's existing players/coaches. I'm sure just like how the professional actors provide acting rates, the players will charge an appearance fee and if the player in the commercial doesn't do well, then it will be a huge marketing flop.

I remember these other campaigns which I couldn't find commercials of:

1987 - Excitement
1990 - Team Up with BC"s Team. BC Lions Fast Break Football.
1991 - Lions Oh Uh Oh Oh POWER!
1992 - Thunder and Lightning
1993 - Roaring Back

For the 1992 campaign, the commercial originally featured player cards showing the 1991 award winners Jon Volpe, Jim Mills, and Doug Flutie. But when Doug Flutie left the team while Danny Barrett arrived, the commercial was change to say....And the big man, Danny Barrett.

[Belize City Lion]

"Double Time" made me laugh. Seeing his bloody stump when the foam finger fell off was brilliant.

[David]

"Double Time" made me laugh. Seeing his bloody stump when the foam finger fell off was brilliant.

Haha, you happen to like the one that didn't air, Belize City Lion. This was banned as it was deemed too controversial. The ReThink ad agency created most of the series that Robbie posted. They were the humourous, irreverant, attention-grabbing ads from 2004-2006. Maybe it's time to consider a similar campaign as the Leos seem to have fallen off the radar. There's a common perception among casual fans that they are "irrelevant." At least, I hear/read this term quite a lot when people talk about the Lions/CFL (or course, Ambrosie telling Canadians that the league annually loses millions doesn't help the cause ).

One inexpensive advertising approach I'd like to see is fan testimonials. Interviewing enthusiastic fans about why they go to Lions games or what they love about the team. Maybe longtime season ticket holders - ask them what it means to be a season ticket holder.

It has been done before with great effectiveness by film studios when moviegoers provide a brief, enthusiastic sound byte about a movie. Get fans going into the stadium, or coming out after a big win. This would show TV viewers and "the average Vancouverite" who perhaps has never been to a game how passionate people are about it. That's what is missing now - the belief that people DO care.


DH

[Robbie]

One more around 2006, Fabric Softener:

[Robbie]

While not a BC Lions commercial per se, this Nestle commercial involves a then-Lions star Geroy Simon wearing his Lions uniform and hoisting the 2011 Grey Cup in a 2012 commercial:



It involves his wife and kids. Sadly, his wife Tracy passed away in 2017.

[Robbie]

And also, not a BC Lions commercial per se but every year, there's a War Amps PLAYSAFE PSA campaign involving CFL players.




Obviously these PSA commercials mean very well. But I wonder if there's any negative reactions.

[Belize City Lion]

One inexpensive advertising approach I'd like to see is fan testimonials. Interviewing enthusiastic fans about why they go to Lions games or what they love about the team. Maybe longtime season ticket holders - ask them what it means to be a season ticket holder.

The Canucks have done this with great success (We are all Canucks). You see and hear images of enthusiastic Canuck fans wearing jerseys and all super excited about a team that has had little success since 2011. Most of that imagery is captured around Rogers Arena on game nights. Are we really all Canucks? Or have we been sold that idea and bought in out of a human impulse to want to belong to the collective?

The Lions could be doing the same thing. On game day, outside BC Place seeing so many people wearing orange, some with painted faces, if this was all you knew about the BC Lions you would be surprised to discover they are not a bigger deal in the greater Vancouver area.

[David]

Yes! This is exactly what I mean. People want to connect with others, especially right now when people are feeling disconnected. Offer them an opportunity to rediscover this feeling by being part of a franchise that's been integral to this city and province's history.


DH

[Robbie]

Yes! This is exactly what I mean. People want to connect with others, especially right now when people are feeling disconnected. Offer them an opportunity to rediscover this feeling by being part of a franchise that's been integral to this city and province's history.

The Lions could be doing the same thing. On game day, outside BC Place seeing so many people wearing orange, some with painted faces, if this was all you knew about the BC Lions you would be surprised to discover they are not a bigger deal in the greater Vancouver area.

Here's the contact information of the team's marketing manager to provide these good suggestions:

Terri Breker
Senior Director, Marketing Communications and Digital
tbreker@bclions.com

[Huge Talent]

Those old commercials are great! So do the lions even advertise any more? I don't recall seeing anything the past few years.

[BC 1988]

Those old commercials are great! So do the lions even advertise any more? I don't recall seeing anything the past few years.

This one debuted last season in the midst of a Mike Reilly sackfest broadcast. Even without the irony of him being clobbered mercilessly while it aired, I thought it was totally wrongheaded.

[Huge Talent]

Not a fan of "nothing rhymes with orange."

What does that even mean? That the lions are unique? They were uniquely bad last year, so I guess it's accurate.

Anyhow, replace the marketing team.