Stop Bitching About Fantasy Football Ads!
Bob Raissman, screeding for the NY Daily News:
Far be it for us to dissect the myriad of legal ramifications surrounding Eric Schneiderman’s quest to give DraftKings and FanDuel the boot. That analysis is handled by a plethora of Gasbags, all who are sudden experts in fantasy (sports, that is) and gambling.
No, our only angle here is purely selfish. If Schneiderman, the state attorney general, could wiggle his nose and get rid of the mind-numbing TV advertisements these daily fantasy sites air, over and over and over again during telecasts of every sport ever created (especially NFL games), we would be eternally grateful.
And nominate him for sainthood.
Since August, when both companies came out of the shadows pushing their “products” in earnest to the widest possible audience, there has been no escaping their saturation marketing.
Including advertisements featuring “regular” guys claiming they’ve won millions, along with majestic statues of nerds, who once paraded around in torn underwear, turned millionaires.
…
Other advertising campaigns are totally obscured by the repetition and outrageous promises from FanDuel like: “$75 million paid out every week!” Or DraftKings promising: “$1 billion in prizes in 2015.”
There are pictures of geeks holding over-sized checks. And some guy swearing: “Every single week I can win money on FanDuel.”
This is in-your-face, non-stop brainwashing, er, advertising, some regulators might find misleading. Even if you know nothing about how these “games” operate, watching continuous commercials that make the prospects of winning millions of dollars sound so darn easy, is appealing. It also raises questions. Especially to an attorney general, or some other official, looking to play sheriff.
This is like bizarro world. Today, protesters have gathered outside NY attorney general Eric Schneiderman’s office to fight the ruling that Draft Kings and FanDuel must cease operation in New York, a decision both companies will fight. There is merit to points made by people on both sides of the DFS fence. And while there are plenty of legitimate gripes or concerns about daily fantasy and the fact that the cart got out just a bit ahead of its wheels – make no mistake, this was a gold rush, and now the government wants to put some tolls along the way because the path took players just a bit too close to established casinos – complaining about the sheer volume of advertising, something which seems to have become almost sport at this point, rings hollow.
Raissman just echos the numerous complaints about all those fantasy ads that we’ve heard all season long from friends, coworkers and online commenters. I don’t get it. We’re the same audience that has become completely immune to endless beer and car and insurance ads that are as obnoxious as anything Draft Kings or FanDuel has rolled out. We just don’t notice anymore. I mean, Raissman complains about the repetitive and brainwashing nature of daily fantasy ads which claim that playing can make you rich and cool. OK. But I’m sorry, Bob, you must have missed the trailing seven Budweiser ads telling you that you’ll be able to fuck a model if you just show up with a case of Bud Light to the spontaneous pool party at your buddy’s curiously large house with a massive pool, impeccably trained dog, and random ass sound stage behind the garden just waiting for a moment like this, and oh look there’s Kid Rock! Or the one where Chevy revealed that buying a big truck can make your dick grow four inches and allow you to please your wife… until, shit, she realizes that you’re 52 years old, for some reason enjoy chopping wood in the middle of actual nowhere, and only grossed about $32k last year because, as it turns out, the market for cheap firewood has completely dried up, something you would’ve noticed if you didn’t live in fantasy land and spent more time at home with your family because, really, that’s all she ever wanted in the first place. Well, that and a Lexus with a giant bow on it (and I don’t think they even sell that kind of ribbon anywhere!). She’s leaving you, Bob. So, go drink a beer, ask your doctor about Cialis, screw a hot chick on that boat you bought with your lottery winnings, and make sure you hire Cordell and Cordell (if they’re licensed in your state) to keep your ex-wife’s greedy paws off the cash stash, YOU MAN, YOU!
But please, let’s bitch more about daily fantasy ads. We just notice them because they’re new and we haven’t yet become accustomed to those particular companies selling us a life that their products can’t realistically produce.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to contact Danica Patrick about an issue I’ve been having with my DNS server.