<p>You know the drill, you sit down to watch a game and around the half-time break, the network shows each playing school's PSAs, those quick spots used to entice students. </p>
<p>Has anyone really put a school on their list because of these? Scratched a place off because the "ad" was really lousy?</p>
<p>Most are for big state schools, though private's who play at that level have theirs too. </p>
<p>Anyone have an opinion? I will say I can't stand The University of South Carolina's "Letter of Intent Signing" parody to highlight their International Business program. Just reinforces some stereotypes to me.</p>
<p>I think they’re not just about enticing students, although of course they are often set up in such a way to seem targeted towards prospectives. I think they might also play a role in making alums feel good about the school and connect them with what’s currently happening on campus (beyond just the athletic program). Which of course can help when it comes to asking alumni for support.</p>
<p>I have seen my alma mater’s ads dozens of times, yet I will still stop what I am doing (or stop the fast-forward) to watch them again. And get choked up every time.</p>
<p>I think if such ads are done well, and the schools are not that well known outside of their regions, the ads can serve a purpose. </p>
<p>I loved the Alabama TV ads 2 years ago, I hated the ones last year, and (thankfully) the ones this year are very nice. (Someone probably lost his job over last year’s selection…LOL)</p>
<p>The U. of Wisconsin’s spot features the marching band weaving in and out of campus settings doing the most awkward-looking march step imaginable. Picture trying to carry an instrument with a ball of barbed wire wadded up in the crotch of your pants - that’s pretty much what the Wisconsin band is doing. My HS band-geek son watched the ad with utter horror, then said “OK . . . so Wisconsin is out.”</p>
<p>I assume you have seen the ad (Mom2, sorry, I couldn’t find it on you tube or the university’s own site. They play UF on national TV this week, maybe they will show this particular spot then), so just a quick recap. An African-American student, fake school hats laid out in front of him, students, mascot and dorm room people all waiting with baited breath…Then he anounces he is going to South Carolina to study International Business. Intent? To show how big a deal it is to enter SC’s top rated International Business program. But why first reinforce the “if your African-American, you only get in as a jock” stereotype with the whole production. The casual observer not paying too much attention to the commercial might just think it is an actual athletic scholarship signing. Heck, I don’t think it ever mentions he got in on an academic scholarship.</p>
<p>You mean to tell me the chairs in their Top Flight IB program want their program used in such a way? Couldn’t SC just get a group of their IB students and alums, different races, genders, etc. in front of the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall, the Sydney Opera House or the Tower Bridge talking about what the program has done for them? More powerful to me, but maybe I am too sensitive to what they were trying to do.</p>
<p>I think the ads are targeted more at alumni, who are more likely to be watching than prospective students, but they figure if they can get prospective students interested as well then all the better.</p>