Simply Obsessed - by Mary

On a day where the entire rugby league community is talking about Sam Burgess deciding to make the switch to Rugby Union at the end of the 2014 season, I thought I might do something different.

Now that we have reached February, NRL season is well and truly on its way back. The season is feeling just that little bit closer now with the conclusion of what I thought was an excellent Auckland Nines tournament. For more on that, check out Hayley's article here:

http://ladieswholeague.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/the-nrl-9s-bonus-5-pointer-by-hayley.html

But last night, I saw something which made me more excited for the upcoming season that anything else… the new Fox Sports ad.

If you haven't had the chance to watch it yet - here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi6y48YoGAo

There are so many things I love about this ad.

First of all - it capitalises on one of the NRL's most successful ad campaigns of all time. Throughout my years as an NRL supporter I can remember many ad campaigns including the years they used Tubthumping by Chumbawumba and This Is Our House by Bon Jovi, but nothing comes close to the year the NRL used Tina Turner's Simply the Best. Whenever I hear that song, I associate it with NRL so I was very excited to see it being used again.

Next, whichever way you look at it - the ad is deliciously cheesy. The rhymes are cheesy, the lyrics are cheesy and the exaggerated facial expressions make me giggle every time… I absolutely love the married couple in their St George Illawarra Dragons donned room or the woman operating the crane.

What I also love about the ad is the use of past champions. This is exactly what the NRL needs to be capitalising on - the reputations of legends like Nathan Hindmarsh and using them to promote the game they served for so long. I also loved seeing Nathan Hindmarsh slam his remote control in frustration whilst watching the Eels play… a feeling I can relate to.

In an era where so many ads we see during the football promote boofheads (I'm thinking primarily alcohol ads) I'm really pleased to see a light hearted ad for the start of the NRL season. It includes women, it includes fans from all walks of life and most hard core NRL supporters can relate to it on some level.

Bring on Season 2014.

And if anyone can tell me where I can buy a puppy wearing JT's headgear, I would be grateful.

Love,

@LadiesWhoLeague