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I don't know if any of you have noticed, but the Detroit Lions have a commercial airing on various TV stations right now advertising season tickets. Maybe I just haven't realized it in the past, but as far as I know this is the first time the Lions have actually had a commercial to get the word out on season tickets.
So far, the commercial has been on stations such as ESPN, Fox Sports Detroit, and I believe I even saw it on CNN as I was flipping through the channels. The first two make sense as the Lions are targeting sports fans in the Detroit area. CNN? Well, I'm not exactly sure who the Lions are targeting on that channel.
Anyways, the commercial led me to believe two things: 1) The Lions must be having trouble selling season tickets, and 2) They really need to invest in a better marketing department.
The first realization comes from the fact that I haven't seen the Lions really make a strong push for the sale of season tickets. In the past they have done a nice job of selling their season tickets as people still show up despite the constant mediocrity. So why would this change for 2008? Since the economy sucks, especially in the Detroit area and in Michigan as a whole, people are less likely to spend money on sporting events. On top of that, the Lions raised season ticket prices for the 2008 season, making people even less likely to buy them.
I don't know if the Lions are in fact having trouble selling tickets, but if they weren't there would be no reason to have a commercial advertising them, so I'd say it's safe to assume that sales aren't exactly through the roof.
Moving on to my second point, the commercial itself is total garbage. After a small highlight package airs with some stereotypical dramatic music and the catcphrase "Do you believe in now?" is put on the screen, Rod Marinelli is shown and talks about how it's all about right here right now. If the Lions were looking for an honest answer from their fans regarding the catchphrase, I believe most of us would say "no." I would believe in now but the Lions simply haven't given me a reason to.
So, my advice to the Lions is that if they are having trouble selling season tickets thanks to their increase in prices and the failing economy, they ought to come up with a better commercial. And if they can't do that, well they at least ought to come up with a better catchphrase, because I laugh everytime I hear it.
UPDATE: Here is the commercial: