2008 NHL commercial, "The Cup"
With Troubles Behind It, N.H.L. Tries to Build Momentum by Tim Arango, Sept. 30, 2008 (excerpted)
Several weeks ago the National Hockey League was preparing for the new season - not on the ice, but in a theater at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
In a back room - a makeshift locker room, actually - Sidney Crosby, the young star of the Pittsburgh Penguins who has been called the Next One by a hockey world eager for a successor to Wayne Gretzky in the pantheon of league greats, was suiting up.
......“We talk a lot in the marketing department that we have to be the voice of the fan,” he said. “It’s an internal creed.”
Part of that, he said, is “using our stars in a heroic way.”
Mr. Crosby, dressed in full uniform, pads and all, was positioned on a platform, in front of a green screen. Instructions were piped into an earpiece hidden under his helmet.
In the commercial, Mr. Crosby will appear to be speaking in the middle of a scene from last year’s Stanley Cup finals, which Mr. Crosby’s team lost in six games to the Detroit Red Wings.
In a series of takes, Mr. Crosby recited the same script: “This is a tough one. Getting this close and not winning the Cup. But, I know it will make our team stronger. I never want to be in this photograph again.”
......Mr. Crosby, while untying his skates after filming the spot, acknowledged his place as the pre-eminent marketing tool for the league. “I do feel a responsibility, but I have the good fortune of being in the league with other young guys,” he said. “I think it’s healthy when some of the younger guys have good years. It’s probably not taking as long a time for a young guy to make an impact as before.”
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