Welcome to the August 1st, 2014 edition of “The Cuttys,” or the Jay Cutler DON’T CARE awards. They honor, as one Facebook commenter put it:
“all the non-news that’s fit to delete.”
Or more literally: “terrible attempts at creating news, that I instantly deleted upon seeing it in my inbox.”
All media members receive dozens of press releases and story pitches from publicists, Sports Information Departments, Media Relations and PR people every week. This was the most utterly asinine and completely worthless among the 100-150 or so that I receive in a given week.
And as always, in case you missed it, here’s how these awards got named.
I’ve noticed a trend lately, most of the terrible and worthless pitches from PR people are just product placement pretending to be news, and whenever I respond back to them with something to the effect of “what are you offering in return as compensation if I were to shill you?” they never answer. Or they answer with something useless. Now unfortunately, teams and universities are doing the exact same thing.
Here’s probably why:
And all three entries this week fit this mold. Staring with….
BRONZE MEDAL: Chris Bosh
Hello,
Please see the attached Chris Bosh/ Warren Henry Endorsement deal press release.
Best,
Nicole
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHRIS BOSH & WARREN HENRY AUTO GROUP
SIGN ENDORSEMENT DEAL FOR 2014-2015 MIAMI HEAT SEASON
Miami HEAT Forward Chris Bosh will continue to serve as Official Celebrity
Spokesperson for South Florida’s Premier Luxury Auto Group
MIAMI, FL (August 1, 2014) – Warren Henry Auto Group, South Florida’s premier luxury Auto Group, is thrilled to celebrate power forward Chris Bosh’s commitment to the Miami HEAT and the great city of Miami. After four years of working together, the spirit continues as Bosh will continue to serve as the brand’s official celebrity spokesperson, promoting the Warren Henry family of Infiniti, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Motor Trend, and Land Rover dealerships.
As part of Warren Henry’s 2014-2015 marketing campaign, Bosh will appear in television, radio and print advertisements and make a special event appearance on behalf of the company. Currently, he drives a black 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE from Land Rover South Dade, the ultimate in sport-utility luxury.
“We couldn’t be happier for Bosh to re-sign with the Miami HEAT,” said Warren Henry Zinn, President and CEO of Warren Henry Auto Group. “We look forward to continuing this valued relationship and cheering him on as he starts this exciting new chapter in his career.”
SILVER MEDAL: Russell Wilson
Hi Paul,
Today, Braun unveiled its new branding campaign with the NFL and Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl champion quarterback, Russell Wilson.
The campaign, titled #FaceGreatness with Braun Confidence, was developed to encourage men to be confident, to chase their dreams, and to never give up on their quest to achieve greatness. After leading the Seattle Seahawks to an impressive win in Super Bowl XLVIII, Russell Wilson is ready for another NFL season and wants men to know that achieving life-long dreams requires preparation and confidence.
See the consumer-facing digital video featuring Russell here, and the full press release with today’s announcement below. Images and video assets are available upon request.
Would you be interested in sharing the video with your readers or perhaps on The Sports Bank’s social media page?
Let me know!
Talk soon,
Deanna
GOLD MEDAL: IOWA HAWKEYES FOOTBALL:
HY-VEE, IOWA HAWKEYES TO PARTNER
ON HY-VEE FUEL SAVER PROMOTION
WEST DES MOINES and IOWA CITY, Iowa – Two of the state’s biggest brands are teaming up on a program that will save Iowans as much as $50 on their next trip to the gas station while putting them in the grandstands of historic Kinnick Stadium for a home game of the nationally ranked University of Iowa football team.
Beginning at 8 a.m., today (Monday, Aug. 4) and until 11:59 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 17 – or while supplies of tickets to the seven home games of the 2014 Iowa Hawkeyes last – fans of the Hawkeyes who also have in their possession a Hy-Vee Fuel Saver card will receive a credit of $2.50 per gallon when they purchase up to 20 gallons of gas (a potential $50 of savings) from their local Hy-Vee Gas Station or participating Casey’s, Shell or PDQ convenience stores when they make a qualifying purchase of tickets to a home game of Kirk Ferentz’s UI football team.
To be eligible for the credit on their gasoline purchase, fans of the Hawkeyes must purchase a minimum of four (4) full-priced, reserved seat general public tickets to one of the seven home games of the Iowa Hawkeyes. The ticket purchase also must be made via the UI Athletics Department’s online ticket office which is available behind the “BUY TICKETS” link located in the upper right hand corner of hawkeyesports.com, the official world wide web site of the Hawkeyes.
The Hawkeyes 2014 home schedule includes non-conference games against Northern Iowa (Aug. 30), Ball State (Sept. 6), and the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game with Iowa State (Sept. 13), and games with Big Ten Conference rivals Indiana (Oct. 11), Northwestern (Nov. 1), and Wisconsin (Nov. 22) before the annual Hy-Vee Heroes Game against Nebraska on Black (and Gold) Friday (Nov. 28).
“We are always excited about working creatively with our corporate partners on programs that offer real benefits to fans of the Iowa Hawkeyes. This program meets that criteria. Our fans will have the opportunity to enjoy a game day at historic Kinnick Stadium and some of the very best college football available in the state while realizing significant savings on their next visit to the gas station…and who, today, doesn’t enjoy savings when making that trip!” said Gary Barta, the UI’s director of Athletics.
“With this unique program, we get to provide our customers a good deal while also helping to celebrate their love of the Iowa Hawkeyes,” said Darin Hirl, Hy-Vee’s director of sports and event marketing.
“Hy-Vee has been a longtime supporter of Iowa college and university athletics, and is thankful to work with such great partners like the University of Iowa. We know Hawkeye fans don’t need an incentive to make the trip to Kinnick Stadium, but we hope this discount at the gas pump gives them something extra to cheer about.”
Cutty Award archives:
8-1-14: Milwaukee Bucks
7-25-14: Grantland/30 for 30 Shorts
7-18-14: THE Ohio State University
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports and Yahoo! He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world. He’s also a special contributor to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Banks has been featured in numerous media outlets including NFL.com, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, ESPN, NBC, CBS, the History Channel and more. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)