Season Launch Video is here

[BLue_Bloys]

The other sports all have the same things too....diving, tight quarter agility, tackling, shoulder hits, deft passing and leaping, etc. So what was the point but to try to come off rudely. The way they portrayed NFL was laughable, for instance, including how two AFL players bumping each other (at the end of the NFL sequence) is more brutal than gridiron.

Ie, it's entirely false that the AFL product even has ANY validity to try to compare its contact-side with gridiron. Instead, it would be more appropriate to compare THAT with basketball, netball, soccer. Rather than Gridiron and Ice Hockey. Union has more of all those things than AFL has. Soccer has more deft passing. Speed is evident in every sport in the world. So there's nothing at all in that ad left except inappropriate comparisons like Horse Racing and Dakar Rally.

Dude you're taking this waaaay too seriously....lighten up

It's great to have a little arrogance in these ads. Mediocrity gets you nowhere

 

[Dagless]

Dude you're taking this waaaay too seriously....lighten up

It's great to have a little arrogance in these ads. Mediocrity gets you nowhere

How does arrogance actually help advertise the sport though? Just makes the AFL and Aussie Rules fans in general look twattish.

Showcasing the unique properties of Aussie Rules as a stand alone sport would be much more effective. As I said this ad is simply looking like a case of 'Anything you can do I can do better' without actually showcasing the sport or giving the faintest idea of what the general idea of the sport is. Just showing highlights would be much more effective.

 

[BLue_Bloys]

How does arrogance actually help advertise the sport though? Just makes the AFL and Aussie Rules fans in general look twattish.

Showcasing the unique properties of Aussie Rules as a stand alone sport would be much more effective. As I said this ad is simply looking like a case of 'Anything you can do I can do better' without actually showcasing the sport or giving the faintest idea of what the general idea of the sport is. Just showing highlights would be much more effective.

They aren't trying to say we're the best at everything, they are saying our game has all of these qualities and we're proud of it. It's a light hearted look at the skills in our game, and a very good one at that.

Secondly it meets its target audience very well which all you guys who are against the ad seem to have forgotten, notice there's no reference to rugby league or union??

 

[Beckers]

They aren't trying to say we're the best at everything, they are saying our game has all of these qualities and we're proud of it. It's a light hearted look at the skills in our game, and a very good one at that.

Secondly it meets its target audience very well which all you guys who are against the ad seem to have forgotten, notice there's no reference to rugby league or union??

Now that you mention it, they should have taken the spekkie over Israel falou

 

[RUNVS]

Now that you mention it, they should have taken the spekkie over Israel falou

It would have alienated the very audience the AFL is trying to attract.

 

[ERead]

Lol, the AFL basically just copied the whole concept and music. No imagination.

The inspiration the AFL drew from this ad would seem undeniable. Surely they have seen it.

However, I have absolutely zero problem with that. The NFL is a marketing dream. I like American (rules) football a lot but even I know that never is the game more exciting and appealing than in its ads.

On another thread, people are saying the AFL is arrogant. I think it is pride. Pride before the (expansion) fall? Perhaps.

 

[Dagless]

They aren't trying to say we're the best at everything, they are saying our game has all of these qualities and we're proud of it. It's a light hearted look at the skills in our game, and a very good one at that.

Secondly it meets its target audience very well which all you guys who are against the ad seem to have forgotten, notice there's no reference to rugby league or union??

What do you actually think of the game when you watch the ad? You see people running, kicking, dodging... How unique... All I see is a bunch of players displaying fairly general skills (Depending on the game - ie dodging, tackle, contact...) without any semblance of the great aspect of the game or the actual structure... Great goals, awesome marks etc etc...

Compare it to the NFL ads on the last page, which showcases what is great about the game on both sides of the ball, without having to compare itself to other sports.

I love it how no one knows how to tackle in the AFL Hardly looks like and contact sport.

 

[Dagless]

The inspiration the AFL drew from this ad would seem undeniable. Surely they have seen it.

However, I have absolutely zero problem with that. The NFL is a marketing dream. I like American (rules) football a lot but even I know that never is the game more exciting and appealing than in its ads.

On another thread, people are saying the AFL is arrogant. I think it is pride. Pride before the (expansion) fall? Perhaps.

The problem with pride in ads like these is that it comes off as arrogance to those on the outside.

 

[Beckers]

It would have alienated the very audience the AFL is trying to attract.

Of course it would have, and setup all AFL fans for ridicule....but it would be hilarious!
Imagine Isreal goes up for the big grab on the wing and out of nowhere big Jon Brown crunches into the back of him and takes a spekkie He then handballs to Barry Hall who runs straight thru Sam Thaiday!!

 

[Exe Gesis]

If Siskel and Ebert were reviewing that ad they'd point out the same conceptual flaws.

Also, it irks me (me not light-hearted) because the AFL is turning the product into an anti-thesis of a lot of stuff in that ad.

It's more like basketball/soccer now than anything. There's no grittiness like "dakar rally", and they didnt even show any grittiness in that sequence except just more chain kicking. They should have shown a Plugger-like jostling contest at least, but that too is being phased out of the game. There's no hard hits anymore, no diving in for the ball anymore. All you saw in that ad is chain passing, uncontested possession, soft contact....which is exactly what the game has become.

So what irks is.....how can anyone get "pumped" watching that dross? How can anyone take the AFL product as an exciting sport anymore when games like Union and NFL and Soccer and Ice Hockey have become superior spectacles over the years due to the mismanagement of the game by the AFL. By their messing around with it, they've only made the sport contain less of all those things shown in the ad which the other sports in the ad have.

 

[Exe Gesis]

notice there's no reference to rugby league or union??

There is a reference to Union in there! The speccy taken.

 

[BLue_Bloys]

The problem with pride in ads like these is that it comes off as arrogance to those on the outside.

So what? do we give a **** what the .001% of Americans that will see this ad think of our game

You could have the best, most exciting ad in the world, if it fails to meet its target audience then it's a complete fail. This ad reaches its primary (depending on state) and secondary audience. Which are AFL fans, and rugby fans.

It showcases that our game has all of these qualities, and it's totally unique in that no other sport has all of these within the one game. The ad is having a subtle go at Rubgy, saying that our game is fast, tough etc without actually offending any rugby fans and trying to convert them....meanwhile at the same time keeping the already converted AFL fans loving it

 

[BLue_Bloys]

There is a reference to Union in there! The speccy taken.

I'm pretty sure that's soccer

 

[Exe Gesis]

On another thread, people are saying the AFL is arrogant. I think it is pride. Pride before the (expansion) fall? Perhaps.

I've been saying this for like more than 5 years now, here and other sites, and people have always derided me for it and still do, but i genuinely foresee the AFL itself collapsing and imploding. And that a better truer AR product run by a more legit org than the AFL Commission will come to fruition. It will be (imo) from expansionist policy that sees them blow hundreds of millions, at the expense of Vic clubs collapsing, merging, and a growing nationwide displeasure of what the product has become....and i also have a conspiracy theory that the AFL Commission are out to hybrid the game with Gaelic for "international" expansion.

 

[Exe Gesis]

I'm pretty sure that's soccer

It's a Rugby Union lineout, with the North player dodging thru the Rugby defense, and then it quickly morphs to it being a soccer field.

 

[Dagless]

So what? do we give a **** what the .001% of Americans that will see this ad think of our game

You could have the best, most exciting ad in the world, if it fails to meet its target audience then it's a complete fail. This ad reaches its primary (depending on state) and secondary audience. Which are AFL fans, and rugby fans.

It showcases that our game has all of these qualities, and it's totally unique in that no other sport has all of these within the one game. The ad is having a subtle go at Rubgy, saying that our game is fast, tough etc without actually offending any rugby fans and trying to convert them....meanwhile at the same time keeping the already converted AFL fans loving it

You don't think Rugby fans will see the arrogance? They may not directly reference rugby, but its general overtone of 'pride' and the line 'In a league of its own' come off as arrogant.

Based on the ad, Aussie Rules is an amalgamation of generic skills that can be found elsewhere. Truly exciting

Why does it need to preach to Aussie Rules fans though? Most follow it religiously, ie wasted money, or two KNOW that the AFL is nothing like what they have shown in the ad nowadays, and throw it away as BS, ie more wasted money.

 

[Exe Gesis]

I'm pretty sure that's soccer

ok, i am wrong here on further review. the goalie has booted the ball out and that's where the sequence starts with the speccy.

 

[BLue_Bloys]

It's a Rugby Union lineout, with the North player dodging thru the Rugby defense, and then it quickly morphs to it being a soccer field.

Maybe, but why would union players try to head the ball

 

[kaypee]

I've been saying this for like more than 5 years now, here and other sites, and people have always derided me for it and still do, but i genuinely foresee the AFL itself collapsing and imploding. And that a better truer AR product run by a more legit org than the AFL Commission will come to fruition. It will be (imo) from expansionist policy that sees them blow hundreds of millions, at the expense of Vic clubs collapsing, merging, and a growing nationwide displeasure of what the product has become....and i also have a conspiracy theory that the AFL Commission are out to hybrid the game with Gaelic for "international" expansion.

i like a doom's day scenario as much as the next chap in an alfoil hat, but get a grip man! the afl is not at risk of imploding, so trade in your faulty crystal ball. the afl commission has transformed a suburban league into a professional sport in an era when the globalisation should have wiped the game out. expansion is a key reason why the game continues to flourish. vic clubs won't collpase, some might relocate, but the game will benefit from expansion.
were you being serious earlier about union being a spectacle?

 

[BLue_Bloys]

You don't think Rugby fans will see the arrogance? They may not directly reference rugby, but its general overtone of 'pride' and the line 'In a league of its own' come off as arrogant.

Based on the ad, Aussie Rules is an amalgamation of generic skills that can be found elsewhere. Truly exciting

Why does it need to preach to Aussie Rules fans though? Most follow it religiously, ie wasted money, or two KNOW that the AFL is nothing like what they have shown in the ad nowadays, and throw it away as BS, ie more wasted money.

Perhaps they will, but the objective of this ad is to try and convert, ok convert is strong, but arouse interest in the AFL game in hope of converting for the GC and WSyd teams. I understand to a degree with what you're saying, but if you aren't a little arrogant or don't put yourself out there for a fall they have no hope of attracting the fans that they want.

 

[randyzany]

Don't pay GG to much attention. He's a yank who's probably a tad miffed his favourite sport, grid iron, was portrayed in a slight negative light on this ad. lol

 

[Exe Gesis]

i like a doom's day scenario as much as the next chap in an alfoil hat, but get a grip man! the afl is not at risk of imploding, so trade in your faulty crystal ball. the afl commission has transformed a suburban league into a professional sport in an era when the globalisation should have wiped the game out. expansion is a key reason why the game continues to flourish. vic clubs won't collpase, some might relocate, but the game will benefit from expansion.
were you being serious earlier about union being a spectacle?

my crystal ball is very good actually. also, AR itself is doomed long-term. it wont outgrow soccer and rugby in our region to seriously grow internationally. rugby and soccer are already far advanced and far more grassroots internationally to offer further growth.

gridiron is in the same boat as AR, where it's very insulated in it's own country. the difference is North America is a billion times larger pop/economy while australia (the nation and continent itself) is ever shrinking.

Ultimately, in the distant future, union and league will merge, AR will die out, overgrown by soccer. So the only two football codes on a grand elite scale will be "Rugby" and "Soccer".

Doomsday isnt always tinfoil. There are many real-world examples of doomsday things happening.....world wars, wars, stockmarket crashes, depressions, natural disasters (new orleans), etc. Bad stuff and evolution is what the world is always going thru. Globalisation is at once a good thing and a destructor----because the most global games are Soccer and Union and theyre only going to grow.

And yes, i find Union incredibly exciting. This is just my preference/opinion, but to me, Gridiron and Union are the best two football codes. Soccer is soccer, im not an avid fan of it, but i definitely watch it and appreciate it, and it's growing on me more than the "AFL" product. That's slipping further and further away.

But dont let my personal preferences taint my doomsday forecasts. I base those on unbiased analysis.

 

[Dagless]

Don't pay GG to much attention. He's a yank who's probably a tad miffed his favourite sport, grid iron, was portrayed in a slight negative light on this ad. lol

So what about the others who just plain think the ad is projecting itself poorly?

Just show an 08 highlight video... Best ad out there

 

[Dagless]

my crystal ball is very good actually. also, AR itself is doomed long-term. it wont outgrow soccer and rugby in our region to seriously grow internationally. rugby and soccer are already far advanced and far more grassroots internationally to offer further growth.

gridiron is in the same boat as AR, where it's very insulated in it's own country. the difference is North America is a billion times larger pop/economy while australia (the nation and continent itself) is ever shrinking.

Ultimately, in the distant future, union and league will merge, AR will die out, overgrown by soccer. So the only two football codes on a grand elite scale will be "Rugby" and "Soccer".

Doomsday isnt always tinfoil. There are many real-world examples of doomsday things happening.....world wars, wars, stockmarket crashes, depressions, natural disasters (new orleans), etc. Bad stuff and evolution is what the world is always going thru. Globalisation is at once a good thing and a destructor----because the most global games are Soccer and Union and theyre only going to grow.

And yes, i find Union incredibly exciting. This is just my preference/opinion, but to me, Gridiron and Union are the best two football codes. Soccer is soccer, im not an avid fan of it, but i definitely watch it and appreciate it, and it's growing on me more than the "AFL" product. That's slipping further and further away.

But dont let my personal preferences taint my doomsday forecasts. I base those on unbiased analysis.

Calm down gg... IF it would ever happen ,its a long way in the future... The AFL will sustain itself for a long while still...

 

[Exe Gesis]

Don't pay GG to much attention. He's a yank who's probably a tad miffed his favourite sport, grid iron, was portrayed in a slight negative light on this ad. lol

How about you sell me some red rooster because "i just dont get it" lol.